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Edgartown man used disguises from his own store to rob Falmouth bank, prosecutors say

Petar Petyoshin allegedly robbed a Rockland Trust bank in Falmouth at gunpoint in April wearing a wig and clothing from his Oak Bluffs clothing store.

July 20, 2023

2 minutes to read

A Martha’s Vineyard store owner allegedly robbed a Falmouth bank at gunpoint earlier this year using items from his shop to hide his identity, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office.

Surveillance footage of a bank in Falmouth shows Petar Petyoshin allegedly robbing it at gunpoint and using zip-ties to restrain people inside. *– Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office*

Petar Petyoshin, 40, of Edgartown was charged in federal court this week. He is in custody and facing one count of armed bank robbery.

Just before 9 a.m. on April 8, Petyoshin entered the Rockland Trust bank at 20 Davis Straits in Falmouth wearing a blonde wig, according to authorities. He allegedly placed a purported bomb on a counter and pointed a handgun at tellers and customers. Petyoshin told one employee, “I’m robbing you,” and had the people in the bank zip-tie each other’s hands together, prosecutors said.

He allegedly had two tellers place more than $20,000 in cash from the bank into a brown Walmart bag before taking a customer’s car keys and fleeing in that vehicle.

Surveillance footage from nearby showed that, about 30 minutes before the robbery, a man matching Petyoshin’s description entered a grocery store parking lot in a gray van. The man stayed in the vehicle for about 18 minutes before exiting and walking toward the bank, prosecutors said. The person can be seen returning to the van from the direction of the bank about 15 minutes after the robbery. Footage also captured the van traveling on a highway toward Mashpee after the robbery.

Investigators later found that a vehicle matching the description of the van left Martha’s Vineyard on a Steamship Authority ferry at 7 a.m. and traveled to Woods Hole. The van was scheduled to return to the island at 1:15 p.m. that day. The person seen driving the van was wearing the same sneakers as the bank robber, according to officials.

Petyoshin was found to be the registered owner of the van, and cellphone information indicated he was in the area of the bank at the time of the robbery, prosecutors said.

Petyoshin allegedly used items from his clothing store to hide his identity. *– Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office*

Investigators also found that the Facebook page for Petyoshin’s clothing store, Dapper Martha’s Vineyard, showed photos of the jacket, sunglasses, and wig allegedly worn by the robber. A Facebook page for the store touts it as a “family owned retail shop in the heart of Oak Bluffs.”

According to court documents, Petyoshin was an employee of the Oak Bluffs Water District, and the jacket worn by the robber was recovered during a search of Petyoshin’s personal locker there.

The Oak Bluffs Water District is a non-profit public water system that is separate from the town government. Representatives from the water district did not respond to requests for information regarding Petyoshin’s employment Thursday.

Police searched Petyoshin’s Edgartown home and found thousands of dollars in cash in Rockland Trust money bands, zip ties, and clothing items the suspect was seen wearing on surveillance footage both before and after the robbery, prosecutors said. They also seized 57 guns and a “large quantity” of ammunition.

Petyoshin was first arrested on state charges in connection with the robbery in May. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.