Reno Gang Miffed by Train Takeover
Two thieves learn the outlaw code—the hard way.
By: Mark Boardman 07/01/2006
It seems the Renos were miffed, to put it mildly.
And they weren’t about to put up with a couple of upstarts who failed to get clearance to pull off such a job—or at least to share some of the ill-gotten gains from the heist. And because the local law enforcement agencies were incompetent, the gang members decided to take the matter into their own hands.
Sabotage
The Renos didn’t know exactly where the two miscreants were hiding, but they came up with a way to smoke them out. John Reno provided the bait—his girlfriend, who apparently was the subject of Hammond’s dreams and desires. She put out the word that she wanted to hook up with the newly rich robber—in fact, the message suggested that the two just might run off together and live happily ever after.
Walker Hammond bit.
He arranged to meet his fantasy girl in Seymour. His pal Michael Colleran went along (didn’t they know that three’s a crowd?). So they showed up at the designated place at the designated time ... and came face to face with the Renos. John and Frank and company proceeded to beat the hell out of the two and to confiscate the loot from the holdup. Then, doing their civic duty, the gang turned Hammond and Colleran over to the Jackson County sheriff, who took the hapless duo to the jail in nearby Brownstown.
A mob wanted justice in the worst way, so they took their ropes and showed up at the jail in search of the boys. The sheriff and his deputies managed to turn them away on multiple occasions through the end of 1867. In February 1868, the two were indicted for the robbery. Colleran decided to plead guilty; Hammond went to trial and was convicted. It didn’t make much difference; young Michael got five years in the state pen at Jeffersonville, while his partner was sentenced to six years in the same facility.
That just might have saved their lives.
Vigilante Power
By that time, John Reno was already behind bars, serving time in Missouri for a burglary of the Daviess County treasury committed in November 1867. But the rest of the Reno Gang continued its ways until the citizens of Jackson County decided enough was enough.
In the summer of 1868, a total of seven gang members were captured by law officers—and strung up by local vigilantes. Frank, William and Simeon Reno, along with pal Charlie Anderson, were arrested and jailed in the Ohio River town of New Albany. That didn’t save them; in December, the vigilantes paid them a visit with several lengths of strong hemp. All four died in an incident that made international news.
Walker Hammond and Michael Colleran were safe in their cells.
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