Prosecutor: Needham bank robbers were under surveillance

Ashleigh Irving, the former girlfriend of Dimitri Long, defends the Norwood man suspected of being the "U30 Bandit."

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The two men arrested Wednesday after a Needham bank robbery were under surveillance by law enforcement officials investigating the "U30 Bandit" robberies, a string of heists in recent months in the suburbs west and south of Boston, a prosecutor said today.

Police followed Dimitri Long, 32, of Norwood and Michael Coty, 44, of Dedham as Coty drove with Long to the Sovereign Bank branch in Needham Heights. Coty saw detectives approaching the bank so he sped off and was later arrested in Newton. Long was wrestled to the ground as he came out of the bank with a pellet gun, prosecutor Kevin McCrae said at the two men's arraignment this morning in Dedham District Court.

In a black satchel, police recovered $10,000 in cash.

Long and Coty face multiple charges, including armed robbery while masked, conspiracy, and larceny. Both men have long criminal records and have been imprisoned at various times as adults, McCrae said. Judge James McGovern set bail at $250,000 cash.

Long's attorney, James W. McCarthy, asked by reporters about the prosecutor's claim that his client was under surveillance, shrugged and said, "So what? People are under surveillance all the time, right? It's the United States government." Coty's attorney, Daniel Tracy, couldn't immediately be reached for comment after the hearing.