A recovered prosthetic mask, at left, and a surveillance image of the suspect in a Florida bank robbery. Federal authorities allege David Sartin Jr. carried out two holdups while wearing an “old man” disguise. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
A convicted bank robber allegedly revived a familiar disguise to rob two Florida banks while on supervised release, wearing an “old man” mask and escaping in a vehicle linked to his earlier crimes, federal authorities said.
David Sartin Jr., 40, of St. Petersburg, faces two bank robbery charges. Investigators say he targeted the banks weeks apart, hiding his identity behind a prosthetic mask featuring gray facial hair.
The allegations come after Sartin was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for five bank robberies in Texas. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by News Outlet, he used a similar disguise in those crimes.
A surveillance image shows the disguised suspect during the Sept. 15, 2026, robbery of a Truist Bank in St. Petersburg, Florida. Federal authorities allege the robber was David Sartin Jr. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
Sartin began serving his supervised release in May 2025. Investigators say the first of the two Florida bank robberies occurred in August 2026.
“In all of SARTIN JR.’s bank robberies, he used a mask,” an FBI special agent wrote in the affidavit.
Surveillance images and recovered gloves are among the evidence described in the federal bank robbery case against David Sartin Jr. Investigators say the gloves resemble those worn during the Florida holdups. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
The first robbery was reported Aug. 24 at Valley Bank in Largo. Investigators say the suspect entered wearing a straw hat, sports jacket, gloves and a prosthetic face covering.
He approached a teller, demanded money and warned the employee not to include dye packs, according to the complaint.
As the teller collected the cash and triggered a silent alarm, the robber repeatedly told the employee to hurry, a bank manager later told investigators.
“Until we meet again,” the suspect said after taking the money, according to the manager’s account.
Surveillance video shows the suspect riding a bicycle near the scene of the Aug. 24, 2026, bank robbery in Largo, Florida. Investigators allege David Sartin Jr. used the bicycle to travel between the bank and a staged getaway vehicle. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
Authorities say the robber took $2,900, placed a yellow wet-floor sign between the exit doors and fled toward a nearby church.
According to the affidavit, surveillance footage showed the suspect retrieve a bicycle, ride into a nature preserve and then leave the area in a Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Investigators tracked the Toyota through footage from nearby businesses, city trucks, a police cruiser and a school bus. Authorities said it was the same vehicle used in several of Sartin’s previous Texas robberies.
On Sept. 15, a suspect wearing a similar disguise entered a Truist Bank in St. Petersburg. He wore a flat cap, glasses, a sports jacket and an “old man” mask with a gray mustache and whiskers.
An open backpack contains a prosthetic mask, glasses and clothing recovered from David Sartin Jr.’s storage unit, according to a federal criminal complaint. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
The suspect handed a teller a note demanding cash without dye and escaped with approximately $2,554, the complaint states.
The teller believed the man was wearing a mask and told investigators that he “did not move like an old man would,” the FBI agent wrote.
An “old man” mask recovered during the investigation into David Sartin Jr., whom federal authorities accuse of wearing an elderly disguise during two Florida bank robberies. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
By then, the FBI was monitoring Sartin’s home with a surveillance camera. Video captured the Toyota leaving before the second robbery and returning afterward, when a man resembling Sartin unloaded a bicycle, according to the affidavit.
The following evening, investigators watched Sartin change the vehicle’s appearance. Investigators said he spray-painted the vehicle’s white roof black.
A prosthetic “old man” mask and glasses were recovered as evidence in the federal investigation into two Florida bank robberies allegedly committed by David Sartin Jr. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
Sartin was arrested Sept. 19 on a warrant for violating his supervised release. Searches uncovered a bicycle and clothing similar to those seen in the robbery video, authorities said.
Agents searching his storage unit found an “old man” mask they said matched the disguise worn during both robberies, along with glasses, clothing and a fake handgun.
In a guest room where Sartin occasionally stayed, investigators also found another mask and a journal identifying him as its author. Its title page included the words, “God’s Best friend is a Bank Robber!” according to the complaint.
Sartin’s previous convictions stretch back nearly two decades. He was convicted of attempted bank robbery in Mississippi in 2008 following a failed holdup involving Halloween masks and disguises.
In 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years and one month in federal prison in the Texas bank robbery case.
He now faces up to 20 years in prison on each new robbery count if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
