13. The Reno Gang Was So Contemptuous of the Law, it Attacked and Robbed a Courthouse
Frank Reno returned home in 1864, and with his brother John, formed the Reno Gang. They were joined by horse thieves, safecrackers, counterfeiters, gamblers and other misfits, and began robbing Post Offices and stores in southern Indiana. Frank and two gang members were arrested but were released on bail. One agreed to testify against Frank, but was murdered before the trial, and Frank walked. That emboldened Frank and his gang to become more violent, and they effectively took over the small town of Rockford Indiana. They transformed the town’s Rader House Hotel into their headquarters and robbed and murdered unwary travelers who checked in.
The terrible gang soon expanded its reach and ambition. They began robbing trains and banks, and raiding communities throughout the Midwest. In 1866, the gang carried out history’s first peacetime train robbery. A passenger identified John Reno and two accomplices, and they were arrested. However, the witness was shot dead soon thereafter. The other passengers then refused to testify, and the charges were dropped. In 1867, Frank and his crew demonstrated their disdain for the law by attacking and robbing a county courthouse in Missouri. It was a crime for which John Reno was eventually convicted and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.
