A man who served time for robbing banks in Texas while wearing an “old man” mask is accused of using a similar disguise to rob two more — this time in his home state of Florida.
David Sartin Jr., 40, of St. Petersburg, faces two federal counts of bank robbery stemming from holdups at Tampa-area banks in August and September, according to a criminal complaint filed Oct. 14.
At the time of the robberies, Sartin was on supervised release after a 2018 conviction for Texas bank robberies involving an old man mask.
The first robbery occurred Aug. 24 at a Valley Bank branch in Largo. Wearing a straw hat, sport jacket, gloves and a mask depicting an elderly man’s face, the robber demanded that a teller hand over all the money, specifying “no dye packs,” according to the complaint. (Banks use dye packs to stain the bills, making them harder to spend.)
The teller pressed a silent alarm and handed over $2,900.
“Until we meet again,” the robber said before leaving, according to an employee’s account included in the complaint.
On Sept. 15, a man wearing a mask, flat cap, glasses, sport jacket and gloves entered a Truist Bank branch in St. Petersburg. According to the complaint, he handed a teller a note demanding cash and no dye. The teller, who handed over roughly $2,554, appeared suspicious of his disguise, later telling investigators he “did not move like an old man would.”
Surveillance video helped investigators trace the robber’s escape from the Largo bank. He fled by bicycle into a nearby nature preserve, where he had parked a Toyota FJ Cruiser with a white roof, according to the complaint. The vehicle left minutes later.
Authorities searched a database containing information fromFlock license plate reading cameras and were able to link the Toyota to Sartin’s father. A speeding ticket identified Sartin as its driver, according to the complaint. Investigators say the same vehicle was used in the Texas robberies.
Reached by phone, Sartin’s father, David Sartin Sr., declined to comment. The Washington Post could not locate information about whether the younger Sartin has an attorney.
The day after the second robbery, investigators surveilling Sartin saw him spray-paint the Toyota’s roof black, according to the complaint. He was arrested Sept. 19 on a warrant alleging supervised-release violations.
Investigators later searched his storage unit and found a backpack containing a fake handgun, clothing and a mask with gray facial hair. An FBI agent said the mask matched the disguise used in both robberies.
In a guest room at his father’s home, investigators found another mask and a journal whose title page began, “God’s Best friend is a Bank Robber!” The journal identified its author as David Sartin.
Sartin previously pleaded guilty to bank robbery in connection with the five Texas holdups, which occurred in 2016, according to the complaint. He was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison in 2018 and began supervised release in May 2025.
In 2008, he pleaded guilty to attempted bank robbery after a failed Mississippi case involving Halloween masks. He was sentenced to 38 months in prison.
If convicted of the new charges, Sartin faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the two counts.
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