Accused teen bank bandit on trial again in McHenry County

Nearly six months to the day after a jury acquitted him of sticking up a Huntley bank, suspected teenage bandit Matthew G. Reno again is putting his fate in the hands of 12 McHenry County residents. Jurors will hear closing arguments and begin deliberations Friday morning on whether Reno, 19, of Hinckley, is guilty of attempted armed robbery in connection with an unsuccessful heist of the Midwest Bank in Union.

The charge, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, alleges Reno walked into the bank March 24, 2008, pointed a gun at a teller inside the Midwest Bank in Union and demanded cash. A bank customer foiled the holdup and sent the would-be robber running away.

Among the few witnesses called during Reno's one-day trial Thursday was lifelong friend Justin Fasel. Arrested and charged as Reno's accomplice and getaway driver, Fasel, 19, of Hinckley, cut a deal with prosecutors last year allowing him to go to a prison boot camp, instead of a real prison, in exchange for testimony against Reno.

Fasel told jurors he drove Reno to the Midwest Bank, watched his friend walk into the bank armed with a handgun, then picked him up and drove away after the heist went awry.

"He told me it was no good, and I drove off," Fasel said.

Jurors earlier heard from bank teller Sarah Lechner, who described herself as "surprised, terrified" when a teenager dressed all in black approached her with a gun and pointed it at her. Lechner, however, did not identify Reno as the robber.

But before she could empty her cash drawer for the robber, Lechner said, she looked up and saw him struggling over his gun with a bank customer. The robber eventually recovered the weapon and fled the bank, she said.

"I remember hearing the robber say, 'Are you crazy? Do you want to get shot?,' " Lechner testified.

During earlier opening statements, Reno attorney Kathleen Colton told jurors that there was no physical or eyewitness testimony placing the teen inside the bank that afternoon. Instead, she hinted Fasel acted alone.

"(Reno) was not in Union trying to rob a bank," Colton said. "Justin Fasel is another matter, and you'll see that."

A jury on Jan. 28 found Reno not guilty of armed robbery for the March 10, 2008 holdup of Castle Bank, 11700 Route 47, in Huntley. Reno would have faced a minimum 21 years in prison if found guilty.

Reno and Fasel also have been linked to bank robberies in Elburn and the Kendall County community of Millbrook.