Men Arrested in Richmond Bank Robbery Appear in Federal Court

The two men arrested in May for an attempted bank robbery in Richmond are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on federal charges in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Aaron Russell, 40, of Orland Hills, and Roberto Favela, 34, of Chicago, who were initially charged in Federal Court in Rockford, were indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Chicago, moving the case to the Federal Court in Chicago, according to a news release issued Monday by Asst. U.S. Attorney Randall Samborn.

Russell and Favela are scheduled to be arraigned at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan. They were indicted July 25 on one count each of attempted bank robbery, conspiracy to commit bank robbery, and using firearms during a violent crime, the release stated. 

Russell alone was also indicted for illegally possessing firearms as a previously convicted felon.  

On May 10, Russell, Favela, and a third man, Tony Starnes, 45, of Chicago, allegedly traveled from Chicago to Richmond, where they planned and attempted to rob the Associated Bank on Main Street in the McHenry County village near the Wisconsin border, Samborn said in the release.

FBI agents confronted the men when they arrived in the bank’s parking lot in two separate cars, and Starnes, who was driving one of the cars, was shot and killed after he drove into an agent’s vehicle, according to Samborn.

Russell and Favela were arrested at that time.    

Between them, Russell and Favela allegedly possessed four loaded guns, and Russell was charged with being a felon-in-possession of three of the firearms, according to Samborn.

The charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

Various local police departments and county sheriff’s departments assisted in the investigation and apprehension of the defendants.

Attempted bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; conspiracy to commit bank robbery carries a maximum of five years in prison; and carrying firearms during a crime of violence carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of five years and a maximum of life in prison, and each count carries a $250,000 maximum fine, according to Samborn.

The felon-in-possession of firearms count against Russell carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt against each defendant.

Related Story: One Dead, Two in Custody in Richmond Bank Robbery

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