Alleged robber of Saugus bank held on $100G bail

SALEM – A Boston man charged with robbing an Eastern Bank in Saugus of over $3,000 during a holdup last summer will have to come up with $100,000 cash in order to get out of the Middleton Jail pending his trial.Rolando Gala, 28, of 56 Fernwood Road, Boston, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday in Salem Superior Court to a charge of unarmed robbery, a crime that will net him a potential life sentence in state prison.Judge John T. Lu agreed to set the high bail amount jointly proposed by Assistant District Attorney Greg A. Friedholm and defense lawyer Christopher Norris.The judge also agreed to leave the door open for a bail review hearing at another court date.Authorities say at about 1:30 p.m., on June 18, the suspect allegedly walked into the Eastern Bank, located at 605 Broadway, in Saugus, walked up to the teller and demanded cash, fleeing the bank with approximately $3,300.Saugus police were quickly dispatched to the bank after the panic alarm had been set off.The holdup was captured on the bank?s video camera, police said.Following an investigation Gala was arrested about a month later.Gala is due back in court on March 4 for a pretrial conference.