Bristol Twp. Bank Robbery Attempt Leads To Charges For Bensalem Man

A Bensalem Township man has been charged after Bristol Township police said he allegedly attempted to rob a bank in early July.

Stanley Petroski Jr., 34, was charged recently with attempted robbery and attempted theft. He has been jailed awaiting his preliminary hearing before District Judge Kevin Wager on 10 percent of $250,000 bail.

Petroski walked into the Wells Fargo Bank along New Falls Road near the intersection with Veterans Highway (Route 413) on July 3 at 1:22 p.m. After a few minutes in the bank, he held a note up to the glass partition that read: “give me all the money from the safe and empty the drawers and don’t put the GPS tracker in there,” according to Bristol Township police.

Petroski left the bank without any money, authorities said.

The bank teller alerted his manager, who then contacted authorities, police said.

In the wake of the robbery, LevittownNow.com and other news outlets published an image of the suspect, which led to numerous tips, police said.

Petroski was identified as the suspect and investigators used tips to determine he had been in the area, police said.

Using tips from the public, Petroski was determined to have driven a gold-colored Subaru Outback, police said.

Bensalem Township officers had body camera footage from the day of the attempted robbery. The footage showed Petroski, his attire, and the Subaru he often drove just hours before the incident, police said.

According to police, a detective obtained surveillance video of Petroski at the 7-Eleven across from the Wells Fargo about an hour before the attempted robbery. He was wearing “similar” clothing as the suspect in the crime.

Bristol Township police said they executed a search warrant on the Subaru in Bensalem Township in mid-July and located clothing and a mask that appeared to match what was worn in the attempted robbery.

In addition to the attempted robbery-related charges, Bensalem Township police have charged Petroski with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle for the day of the Bristol Township incident, according to court papers.

“Stanley Petroski maintains his innocence. He is not the person identified in the video. He did not commit a bank robbery,” according to Niels Eriksen, Petroski’s defense attorney.

Petroski has had run-ins with Lower Bucks County police since his teens, according to court papers.

Petroski was convicted and spent time behind bars for a 2017 Falls Township incident where he possessed a weapon, barricaded women in a mobile home, and made threats, per court papers.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.

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