Suspects Arrested For WOC Bank Robbery
WEST OCEAN CITY — Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the early Tuesday morning robbery of the PNC Bank in West Ocean City and both are believed to be connected to a string of robberies in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, an unidentified male entered the PNC Bank on Route 50 near the intersection with Route 611 and demanded money. No money was given and the suspect fled the scene. No weapon was displayed.
Early on, with the help of the media and social networks, a possible connection was developed to a series of bank robberies in Pennsylvania late last week and the video surveillance pictures captured during those crimes revealed the suspect appeared similar to the suspect wanted in connection with the West Ocean City bank robbery on Tuesday, including a distinctive tattoo on his left arm.
One suspect has been identified as Heath Derizzo, 36, of Harrisburg, Pa., was detained shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday night in Salisbury. A second suspect, identified as Dale Mentzer, 35, of Newmanstown, Pa., was also detained in Salisbury around the same time on Tuesday night.
Derizzo was also wanted by the Pennsylvania State Police on an outstanding warrant for parole violations and additional charges are pending against him in Pennsylvania relating to numerous additional robberies. Mentzer is also wanted by the Pennsylvania State Police on an outstanding arrest warrant for armed robbery. Additional charges against him are also pending in Pennsylvania.
Maryland State Police investigators were expected to charge Derizzo and Mentzer on Wednesday afternoon for their involvement in the PNC Bank robbery in West Ocean City on Tuesday. Investigative leads were developed and members of the MSP Apprehension Team and the Gang Enforcement Unit were able to locate the suspects in the Salisbury area. Both were taken into custody along with their associates.
The suspects are not believed to be part of a larger group. In addition, investigators do not believe that the PNC Bank robbery in West Ocean City yesterday and the robbery of the Susquehanna Bank in Ocean City early Wednesday morning are connected in any way.