A New York man has been arrested and charged with numerous robberies in Bucks and Montgomery counties, including the Santander Bank in Montgomery Township.
Marc Masich, 47, of Edgewater Drive in Amherst, was charged Tuesday with numerous felonies, including robbery, robbery of a financial institution, terroristic threats, and related offenses, authorities said.
He was arraigned by District Justice Frank Peranteau and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10% of $500,000 bail.
At about 5 p.m. on Monday, a white male wearing a black knit hat, black surgical mask, navy blue sweatshirt, and black pants entered the TD Bank at 2751 Street Road, police said.
He allegedly handed a demand note, “Give me all the money in your drawer and make sure it does not have any trackers in it.”
The teller activated the silent alarm and told the subject that he could not access the cash machine; the subject fled the scene in an unknown direction before the police arrived, police said.
At 5:13 p.m., Masich allegedly entered the Santander Bank at 1425 Street Road. He was still wearing the face mask, and when employees told him he had to lower it, he left the bank without incident, police said. .
A detective in Middletown Township then advised Bensalem Police over the radio that the suspect may be driving a small black Nissan sedan as they had a similar bank robbery on December 12, police said
At 5:21 p.m., a Bensalem Police Officer was checking the parking lot of the PNC Bank at 3707 Hulmeville Road. He observed a male walking from a parked vehicle into the bank. The officer noticed that the black Nissan sedan the male was walking away from was running and did not have a registration plate on the back, police said.
Moments later, police observed Masich running from the bank's front door carrying a gray/white bag, police said. Masich was taken into custody without incident.
The tellers at the PNC Bank reported that they were handed a demand note similar to the one used 20 minutes earlier at TD Bank, police said. The teller emptied the drawer and handed Masich about $4,000 in cash, police said.
Masich placed the money into a white “Bank of America” bag that he had brought with him and fled into the waiting arms of Bensalem Township Police Officers just outside, according to police.
When interviewed, Masich admitted to robbery at PNC Bank and attempted robbery at TD Bank, per authorities.
He also revealed that he was going to rob the Santander Bank, but he got scared and left the bank when employees told him to take his mask off, police said.
Masich also admitted to three other bank robberies using the same demand note over the last month at the Santander Bank in Langhorne, PA, the Santander Bank in Montgomery Township, and the Truist Bank in Newtown Square, PA, police said.
Bensalem Police are currently working with the FBI and other local law enforcement to determine if Masich was involved in similar bank robberies in Southeastern PA, police said.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.