Fayette man charged in Uniontown bank robbery
A Fayette County man is accused of taking $4,000 in cash during an armed robbery at a Uniontown Bank Friday.
Austin Wilson, 29, of Adah, allegedly confessed to the robbery at Somerset Trust Bank on Fayette Street, according to court documents.
A teller told police Wilson, wearing a black hat, jacket and hoodie, had come to the bank to check his balance around 3 p.m. After providing his Social Security number, he received his answer: 2 cents.
According to court documents, he returned in the same outfit 17 minutes later, telling the same teller, “I need 50s and 100s, I’m not kidding, this is a robbery.” He then placed a knife onto the counter, the complaint said.
The teller gave Wilson $2,000 in cash, then another $2,000 after he demanded more, she told police. Surveillance footage from the bank and the testimony of other employees backed up the teller’s account, the complaint said.
Police found Wilson hiding near 45 Miller Ave. in Uniontown with the $4,000 in $20 bills, as well as 17.5 buprenorphine pills, according to court documents.
When being taken into custody, he told the officer “When I get out i’m going to … kill you,” the complaint said.
In the woods near Mill Street Park, police recovered a book bag, a black hat and pants, a knife matching one in the video, and a piece of paper bearing Wilson’s Social Security number, the complaint said.
Wilson later confessed the robbery to police, the complaint said.
Wilson is charged with robbery with threat of a serious injury, demanding money from a financial institution, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime, terroristic threats, simple assault, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
District Judge Richard Kasunic denied bond to Wilson after determining he poses a threat to the community. Wilson is lodged in the Fayette County jail.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 16.