Serial bank robber wearing ‘old man’ mask nabbed by feds for same crime 10 years later

A Florida man who served more than a decade in federal prison for robbing banks while disguised as an elderly person has been arrested on suspicion of committing two more bank robberies using a similar disguise.

David Sartin Jr., 40, of St. Petersburg, was arrested by federal authorities over alleged bank robberies in Largo on August 24 and in his hometown on September 15, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Investigators allege that Sartin wore a prosthetic “old man” mask during both robberies, approached bank tellers and demanded money without dye packs.

During the first robbery, Sartin allegedly stole $2,900 before fleeing on a bicycle and later driving away in a vehicle. According to the criminal complaint, he told the teller, “Until we meet again.”

In the second robbery, he allegedly took $2,554. Investigators said surveillance footage showed a vehicle leaving his home before the robbery and returning afterward, while a man resembling Sartin was seen unloading a bicycle.

Authorities also allege that Sartin spray-painted the vehicle’s white roof black the following day.

Investigators recover disguise items

During searches of properties linked to Sartin, investigators reportedly found a bicycle, a blue suit, a black bag and several items believed to have been used in the robberies.

At a storage unit, authorities recovered a mask with gray facial hair, dark-framed glasses and work gloves marked with black paint. A fake handgun and clothing consistent with the alleged disguise were also found.

At another property where Sartin sometimes stayed, investigators discovered a second prosthetic mask and a journal dated 2021 titled “God’s Best Friend Is a Bank Robber! Uncle Henry Cops and Robbers the World Through the Eyes of a Bank Robber.”

Previous bank robbery conviction

Sartin was previously convicted in 2018 for robbing five banks in Texas in 2016 while wearing a similar elderly disguise. He was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison.

According to federal authorities, he was on supervised release from that conviction when the latest alleged robberies occurred. Investigators also said he used the same getaway vehicle in the Florida cases.

Sartin was convicted in federal court in 2008 of attempted bank robbery after he and an accomplice allegedly tried to rob a bank while wearing Halloween masks and disguises.

The latest allegations remain subject to the legal process.