Bank Robber Who Hit Bala Cynwyd Branches Convicted

BALA CYNWYD, PA — A man who robbed two Bala Cynwyd banks in July 2022 was convicted on several charges recently.

John Charles Birchall, 65, of Coatesville, is in Montgomery County Correctional Center in lieu of $100,000 awaiting sentencing after being convicted of charges of robbery, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, terroristic threats, and simple assault.

Police said Birchall committed holdups at the Wells Fargo Bank and the WSFS Bank, both in the Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center, between July 1 and July 9, 2022.

The investigation began about 11 a.m. on July 1, 2022, when Lower Merion police responded to the Wells Fargo Bank in the shopping center along East City Avenue, for a report of an older white male approaching a teller and saying, “I need $100’s and $20’s” and when the teller asked the male for his bank card he replied, “No, this is a robbery,” according to the criminal complaint.

Police were dispatched to the WSFS Bank in the same shopping center at about 11 a.m. on July 9 for another robbery where an older, white male entered the bank, demanded money, and instructed the teller not to include a dye pack with the money, according to the criminal complaint.