SC jury convicts Pa. man who claimed someone else did Rock Hill bank heist
David Herbert Massie of Pennsylvania admitted during his South Carolina trial for armed robbery this week that he had more than $1,400 in cash in a bag with a GPS tracker when police caught him on a bicycle minutes after a Rock Hill bank heist, prosecutors said.
Massie, 47, who had no previous criminal record, claimed he was on a bike trip south along the east coast from his Pittsburgh home with his cat in a special carrying backpack. He said he stopped in Rock Hill — and someone else tried to steal his bicycle, York County prosecutor Chris Epting said.
Massie told jurors he thwarted the bike theft then took the bag that the purported bank robber dropped. He said he then pedaled away — so that’s why he had the money and a ski mask and gun when confronted by officers who followed the GPS right to his bicycle.
Three sets of police body camera videos showed Massie then pulled out a gun after being stopped by officers, who shot him in the hand before taking him into custody. The cat was safe in the backpack.
The jury did not buy Massie’s version of events. At the end of a three-day trial, 12 jurors needed just over an hour to unanimously convict Massie of armed robbery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, resisting arrest with a weapon and pointing and presenting a gun, according to lawyers in the case and court records.
Visiting Judge G.D. Morgan sentenced Massie to 17 years in prison.
Suspect shot during police capture
The robbery of the bank on India Hook Road took place Nov. 20, 2023.
No officers were hurt and Massie did not fire the gun.
But he did pull it out as officers tried to take him into custody, according to prosecutors, testimony, and the three police body camera videos.
In the trial, a teller testified about being robbed by the masked man with a loaded gun who fit Massie’s description, Epting said. The GPS unit that was put in the money led officers to Massie on the bicycle near the intersection of Ebenezer Road and India Hook, according to Epting and testimony from the officers.
The bank is near a busy shopping center, Epting said.
“The (police) body cameras clearly showed him pulling out the gun,” said Epting, who prosecuted the case with Heather Burdette. “The robbery at the bank was dangerous. He had a loaded gun and demanded money.”
Massie gets credit for 513 days he spent in jail waiting for trial. His court-apppointed lawyer, Matthew Niemec, said after the trial Massie will appeal.
The cat was later adopted from an animal shelter.
