Armed Falmouth bank robbery suspect who zip-tied employees and customers pleads guilty in court

FALMOUTH, Mass. — A Martha’s Vineyard man accused of zip-tying several employees and customers during an armed robbery in Falmouth earlier this year pleaded guilty in Federal Court on Thursday.

40-year-old Petar Petyoshin pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery.

On April 8, Petyoshin took the Steamship Authority from Martha’s Vineyard to Woods Hole in Falmouth around 7 a.m. About 2 hours later, officials say he entered the Rockland Trust Bank on Davis Straits in Falmouth wearing a wig, and a mask, and threatening he was carrying an explosive device.

The Office of Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy says Petyoshin placed a purported bomb on the teller counter and then pulled out a gun, telling one employee “I’m robbing you,” before having customers and bank tellers zip-tie each other’s hands together.

He ordered two bank employees to place over $20,000 in cash into a brown bag and fled the scene in a customer’s car after stealing their keys.

Authorities say Petyoshin then boarded a 1:15 p.m. return ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.

After a lengthy investigation, police arrested him on May 23 at the Martha’s Vineyard Registry Motor Vehicle Office.

Only Boston 25 News was on the scene as Petoyshin was taken into custody. His family owns an Edgartown clothing store called Dapper located on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs.

On the clothing store’s Facebook page, the same clothing – including jacket, sunglasses, and wig – he wore during the bank robbery were displayed for all to see.

The jacket Petyoshin wore was found in his locker at the Oak Bluffs Water Department where he was an employee.

After his capture, police converged on his home on Vineyard Street in Oak Bluffs and began searching his property, where they found 57 guns and a large quantity of ammunition. Police also found thousands of dollars in cash bundled together in Rockland Trust money bands, zip ties and clothing items worn during the Falmouth robbery.

Petyoshin will be sentenced on January 24, 2024. The charge of armed bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

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