Federal authorities say a convicted bank robber may have revived a signature disguise while allegedly holding up two Florida banks during supervised release. Investigators claim he wore an “old man” mask and escaped in a vehicle linked to his previous crimes.
David Sartin Jr., 40, of St. Petersburg, has been charged with two counts of bank robbery. Investigators allege he targeted the banks weeks apart while hiding his identity behind a prosthetic mask featuring gray facial hair.
The case comes after Sartin served more than a decade in federal prison for five bank robberies in Texas. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by News Media, he used a comparable disguise during those earlier 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 supervised release in May 2025. Investigators say he committed the first of the two Florida bank robberies in August 2026.
“In all of SARTIN JR.’s bank robberies, he used a mask,” an FBI special agent stated in an affidavit.
Surveillance images and recovered gloves appear in evidence outlined in the federal bank robbery case against David Sartin Jr. Investigators say the gloves match those worn during the Florida holdups. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
The first alleged Florida robbery occurred Aug. 24 at Valley Bank in Largo. Investigators say the suspect entered wearing a straw hat, sports coat, gloves and a prosthetic facial covering.
He reportedly confronted a teller, demanded cash and warned the employee not to include dye packs, according to the complaint.
As the teller collected the money and triggered a silent alarm, the robber repeatedly pressed the employee to move faster, a bank manager told investigators.
After receiving the cash, the suspect allegedly told the teller, “Until we meet again,” 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 a bicycle to travel between the bank and a staged getaway vehicle. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida)
Authorities allege the robber took $2,900, placed a yellow wet-floor sign between the exit doors and headed toward a nearby church.
According to the affidavit, surveillance footage showed the suspect pick up a bicycle, ride through a nature preserve and later leave in a Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Investigators reconstructed the Toyota’s route using footage from nearby businesses, city vehicles, a police cruiser and a school bus. They said the SUV was the same one connected to several of Sartin’s earlier bank robberies in Texas.
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On Sept. 15, a suspect wearing a similar disguise allegedly entered a Truist Bank in St. Petersburg. He was described as wearing a flat cap, glasses, a sports jacket and an “old man” mask complete 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 allegedly handed a teller a note demanding money without dye packs before escaping with about $2,554, the complaint says.
The teller told investigators that the man appeared to be wearing a mask and “did not move like an old man would,” according to the FBI agent’s affidavit.
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.
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