Alexander Welter

A Chicora man will be heading to state prison after being sentenced Wednesday for two bank robberies that occurred over a span of three days in July.

Alexander J. Welter, 22, was sentenced to 2 to 5 years in state prison by Butler County President Judge Thomas Doerr. He was also sentenced to 9 to 18 months on a probation violation in a previous case. All the sentences run consecutively, for a total of 33 months to 6½ years in state prison.

He was also ordered to pay restitution and court costs.

Doerr granted Welter time served credit as allowed by law, which his attorney, Joseph Kecskemethy, told the court was roughly a year.

Welter previously pleaded guilty to felony robbery and theft on May 29.

The charges stem from two incidents, first at the Citizens Bank in the Giant Eagle at Clearview Mall in Center Township July 16, and then July 19 at the First National Bank on Route 422 in Franklin Township.

In the July 16 incident, state police said the Citizens Bank was robbed by a man wearing a motorcycle helmet. The man used a handwritten note that read, “This is a robbery. I am armed. $3,000. No die (sic) packs,”

No weapons were seen or displayed during the robbery, and the man drove off on a motorcycle, which police said they believe he drove to an Oakland township home of a friend with whom he had been staying, taking that person's pickup truck.

Police identified Welter after the owner of the truck reported it missing, believing Welter had taken the vehicle.

Investigators said they recovered from the victim's garage the getaway cycle as well as the helmet and sweatshirt the suspect allegedly wore during the robbery.

While being wanted in that incident, Welter struck again, police said, this time by sliding a note to a teller of the First National Bank that read, “This is a robbery I want $3,000 no bait money,”

He was not wearing the motorcycle helmet in that incident, police said.

Welter made off with $4,000 in cash. He was later seen on video surveillance getting into a Chevrolet pickup truck in the area of the Broad Street Apartments, and was arrested at the apartment building. Police said when arrested, Welter was found in possession of heroin baggies.