Benjamin Pohl

A Red Lion man committed four bank robberies and tried to pull off a fifth before DNA linked him to one of the crimes, which led to him confessing, according to police.

Two of the successful robberies, as well as the botched one, happened at the same bank, police said.

Benjamin Lewis Pohl, 23, of 221 S. Pine St., is in York County Prison on a total of $120,000 bail, charged with robbing the Sovereign Bank at 880 W. Broadway in York Township on July 27, 2011 and again on Sept. 8, 2011, York Area Regional Police said.

He's charged with attempting to rob the same bank on June 14, police said.

Pohl is also charged with robbing the Peoples Bank at 2587 Cape Horn Road in Windsor Township on Jan. 3, police allege.

And state police said they will charge Pohl for the Oct. 26, 2011, robbery of the M&T Bank branch at 4 S. Market St. in Fawn Grove.

The robber covered his face during all the incidents, police said.

Sweatshirt: According to York Area Regional Police, the man who robbed the Sovereign Bank in September 2011 was the same man who robbed the business in July 2011.

During the September crime, he dropped the sweatshirt he'd been wearing while fleeing through a wooded area east of the bank, police said.

Officers found the sweatshirt, which was sent to a state police crime lab for DNA testing.

After the Jan. 3 robbery, police pulled over a maroon Kia that matched the description of the getaway car, and Pohl was driving, police said. But officers were forced to let him go because they could find no evidence linking him to the robbery, police said.

Pohl remained a suspect, police said.

Search warrant: Then, after the June 14 attempted robbery - in which Pohl jumped a counter but fled without getting cash - witnesses reported the robber fled in a gold Honda sedan, police said.

Investigators knew Pohl drove a gold Honda and went to his home, armed with a search warrant, police said.

They collected his DNA, which a crime lab eventually matched to the DNA found on the dropped sweatshirt, according to police.

Pohl confessed to the four robberies and the attempted robbery after detectives informed him of the DNA match, police said.

He was arraigned Tuesday by District Judge John H. Fishel for the four incidents at Sovereign Bank and Peoples Bank, according to court records. His bail was set at $30,000 for each case, according to Fishel's staff.

Pohl's preliminary hearing in those four cases is set for Oct. 3 before Fishel.

- Staff writer Liz Evans Scolforo can also be reached at levans@yorkdispatch.com.