The two men accused of robbing a Needham bank Wednesday are being held on $250,000 cash bail on charges of armed and masked robbery.
Dimitri Long, 32, of Norwood and Michael Coty, 44, of Dedham pled not guilty Thursday morning at arraignment in Dedham District Court. Federal officials said Wednesday that Long Coty might be connected to the recent string of heists that have been attributed to the "U30" bandit and Assistant District Attorney Keith McCray said Wednesday’s robbery had a “high level of sophistication.”
“It is the Commonwealth’s opinion that this was not an isolated event,” McCray said. He said the men could be facing federal charges as well.
Long and Coty were also charged with assault with a gun, stealing from a depository by intimidation, larceny of more than $250, using a motor vehicle in a felony and conspiracy to commit a crime.
According to McCray, officers from several law enforcement agencies had set up surveillance on Coty Wednesday and saw him meet with Long. The two went to several banks in the area before stopping at the Sovereign Bank on Highland Avenue, McCray said. Coty dropped Long off and circled around the bank and Long put up his hood and went inside.
Coty then noticed the police and drove away at a high rate of speed, McCray said. He was eventually captured on Country Club Road in Newton. Long reportedly went into the bank with a pellet gun and demanded money, receiving about $10,000.
When he left the bank, police were waiting. Long reportedly took off running and dropped the gun on Highland Avenue before being tackled by police. Long “struggled throughout the capture process,” McCray said.
Long’s attorney, James W. McCarthy, told reporters after the arraignment he was not concerned that his client had been under surveillance.
Both men have extensive criminal records. Long has had 24 “adult contacts with law enforcement,” according to court reports, and Coty has had 29 adult contacts with law enforcement since 1981, mostly larceny and violent offenses, McCray said.
Long's most recent conviction was for kidnapping, assault with intent to kill and violating civil rights. He was sentenced to 3 to 3 ½ years in state prison after beating a Norwood man with a baseball bat, burning him with lit cigarettes and drawing a swastika on his forehead and a racial slur on his back before taking him to some railroad tracks and leaving him for dead.
