David Sartin Jr. is back in custody after allegedly robbing two banks in Largo and St. Petersburg, Florida, while wearing a prosthetic old-man mask. The 40-year-old was already on supervised release for previous bank robbery convictions when the latest incidents occurred.
According to the US Department of Justice, Sartin allegedly robbed a bank in Largo on August 24 and another in St. Petersburg on September 15, wearing a mask with grey hair similar to the disguise he used during a string of five bank robberies in Texas in 2016. He reportedly demanded cash from tellers and instructed them not to include dye packs in the money.
According to court documents, Sartin used a bicycle to get to the bank in the first incident before fleeing to a vehicle he had staged nearby. Surveillance footage from the second robbery reportedly shows a vehicle returning to his residence, where a man who resembles Sartin is seen unloading a bicycle.
Investigators say the disguise turned up in a storage unit
The next day, Sartin was allegedly seen spray-painting the white roof of his vehicle black. Law enforcement searched his home and found a bicycle, two suits, and a black bag that authorities say match items used during the robberies.
Investigators also searched a storage unit belonging to Sartin, where they reportedly found an old-man mask, dark-framed glasses, a fake handgun, and additional clothing that lined up with the robberies. At another residence where Sartin occasionally stayed, authorities found a handwritten journal titled “God’s Best friend is a Bank Robber!”
The journal, dated January 1, 2021, was identified as being written by Sartin and contains a drawing of a person holding a mask. The text next to the drawing reads, “My face holding up uncle Henry, looking at it, Face to Face.”
Sartin was on supervised release for a 2018 federal conviction stemming from the Texas robberies, in which he allegedly used the same vehicle, and he was sentenced to 10 years and 1 month in federal prison. He was previously convicted of attempted bank robbery in 2008, when he and a co-conspirator used Halloween masks to hide their identities.
Repeat bank robbery cases are not unheard of, as one Texas man allegedly showed when he returned to the same bank he had been charged with robbing years earlier. If convicted on the latest charges, Sartin faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count.
Published: Oct 26, 2026 10:45 am