In a hearing before a Massachusetts U.S. District Court judge this morning, Dimitri Long, 33, of Norwood, pleaded guilty on eight counts of Information of Armed Bank Robbery.

Long had submitted a plea of not guilty at his court hearing in July, but after his pretrial conference on Nov. 8, Long was scheduled for a change of plea hearing in front of Judge Douglas Woodlock this morning. The change was accepted and Long's sentencing is set for Feb. 28, 2011.

During the spring and summer of 2009, Wellesley, Needham, Newton, Dedham and Walpole experienced a number of violent robberies at the hand of a masked person with an automatic-type handgun. Bank employees reported the masked robber speaking to an accomplice on a walkie-talkie. The robber was known as the U30 bandit for robbing the banks in under 30 seconds, and struck eight times between March 26 and June 16 of 2009.

The two were arrested after robbing Sovereign Bank on Highland Ave. in Needham Heights in July of 2009. Police arrested Long at the scene while his accomplice drove off and was later apprehended on Country Club Road in Newton.

Long's accomplice Michael Coty, 46, also of Norwood, was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment on Oct. 26 after pleading guilty to three counts of armed bank robbery in June. The three counts included robberies at the Bank of America in Wellesley on April 24, 2009; the Sharon Credit Union in Walpole on June 16, 2009; and the Sovereign Bank in Needham on July 1, 2009.