Teen found guilty of trying to rob McHenry County bank

A DeKalb County teen faces up to 15 years in prison after a jury today found him guilty of allegations he walked into a McHenry County bank two years ago and pointed a gun at a teller in an attempted stickup.

Jurors deliberated about 2½

hours before returning a guilty verdict against Matthew G. Reno on a charge of attempted armed robbery stemming from the unsuccessful March 24, 2008, holdup of Union's Midwest Bank.

Reno, 19, of Hinckley, bowed and shook his head in apparent disbelief as Judge Joseph Condon announced the jury's decision. As he later was being led from the courtroom in handcuffs, he turned to his mother and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't do anything wrong."

Jurors approached as they left court declined to comment on their verdict.

Reno's attorney, Kathleen Colton, said she would seek a new trial and, if that fails, appeal.

"It's frightening that a jury can convict someone of a felony offense based solely on the testimony of a person making a deal of a lifetime with the state's attorney's office," she said.

That person, Reno's childhood friend Justin Fasel, was the key witness against him during a brief trial leading up to today's verdict.

In exchange for a plea deal that will send him to a state boot camp program instead of prison, Fasel, 19, of Hinckley, testified that he drove Reno to Midwest Bank, watched him get out of his car armed with a handgun and come out of the bank a short time later breathing heavily and saying, "It was no good."

The stickup was foiled, witnesses said, when a bank customer went for the robber's gun, leading to a struggle that ended with the man fleeing the facility empty-handed.

Colton attacked Fasel's credibility during closing arguments earlier Friday, telling jurors he may have tried the bank robbery himself and then blamed his friend when caught.

"Justin Fasel is 100 pounds of manure packed in a 50-pound bag," Colton said. "He was making (his testimony) up as he went along, and you could see that."

Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Jeffrey Bora agreed that Fasel's testimony alone would not be enough to convict, but said other evidence - including cell phone records showing both teens were in the Huntley area shortly after the holdup - corroborates his account.

"The evidence backs up Justin Fasel's story," Bora said. "It shows he was in McHenry County and he was driving away from the bank after the attempted robbery."

Reno, who earlier this year was acquitted of charges he and Fasel were behind in the successful robbery of Huntley's Castle Bank in March 2008, now faces punishment ranging from probation to 15 years in prison when sentenced Oct. 1.

Despite a defense objection, Condon granted a prosecution motion to revoke Reno's bond and hold him in the McHenry County jail to await sentencing.

"This was exceptionally dangerous behavior in my opinion," Condon said.