Jury Unable to Reach a Unanimous Decision for Detroit Man Convicted on Charges of Murder and Bank Robbery

A federal jury in Detroit today was unable to reach a unanimous decision during the penalty phase in the case of U.S. v. Timothy Dennis O’Reilly, 37, a Detroit resident originally from Camarillo, California. O’Reilly had been convicted on charges including murder, bank robbery, and conspiracy relating to armored car robberies in Dearborn and Detroit, Michigan, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced.

Ms. McQuade was joined in the announcement by FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena, of the Detroit Division.

The jury deliberated for seven hours before announcing that they were unable to reach a unanimous decision. As a result, the court must impose a sentence of life in prison without possibility of release. The penalty phase of the trial began on August 9, 2010. O’Reilly was convicted on August 3, 2010, which concluded the 11-day trial before United States District Judge Victoria A. Roberts.

"We respect the work of the jury, which carefully listened to all of the evidence in this case," said U.S. Attorney McQuade. "We hope that the Stephen’s family can take some comfort in knowing that the defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of release. I commend the investigators and prosecutors for engaging in this critical process with professionalism and integrity, which the victims, the public, and the defendant all deserve."

Special Agent in Charge Arena stated, “The FBI would like to thank the jury for the long hours of listening to the evidence and their deliberations in this case. By convicting this individual, justice has finally been served.”

The evidence presented during the trial showed that during the early morning hours of December 14, 2001, O'Reilly and five other men robbed an armored truck delivering money to the ATM machines at the Dearborn Federal Credit Union. During the course of the robbery, armored truck guard Norman Anthony Stephens was shot in the back and killed with shotguns used by the robbers. O'Reilly and his fellow robbers escaped the scene with $204,000 in cash. At the time, Stephens and his two fellow guards were employees of Total Armored Car Services. Stephens was married, and he and his wife had six children. The evidence also showed that O’Reilly and two other men robbed an armored truck delivering money to an ATM at a Comerica Bank branch in Detroit on June 19, 2003. During the course of the robbery, armored truck guard Jonathan Smith was shot by the robbers.

In its verdict, the jury found O'Reilly guilty of conspiring between June 2000 and December 2001 with six other men to commit bank robbery at the Dearborn Federal Credit Union. In addition, O'Reilly was convicted of robbing the armored truck and of killing Mr. Stephens during the course of the robbery. Finally, O'Reilly was convicted of murdering Mr. Stephens with a firearm during the course of a violent crime. O’Reilly also was convicted of conspiracy, bank robbery, and use of firearm during a crime of violence in relation to the June 2003 robbery at the Comerica Bank location.

A sentencing date was set for February 8, 2011 at 2 p.m.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Chasteen, Kenneth Chadwell and Maggie Smith.