$5,000 recovered in S. Tahoe bank robbery

By Kathryn Reed

It was an unlucky day for a Danville resident who allegedly robbed the El Dorado Saving Bank on Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe.

Although Kyle Facchain, 26, got out of the bank with $5,000 in cash, he never got out of the parking lot, according to officers. This is because members of the South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team were in the area doing surveillance – not on Facchain, but he soon became their focus.

Jeff Catchings, SLEDNET commander, said he and his guys saw Facchain driving with rubber gloves, back into a parking spot, put on a hat, sunglasses, and stuff a duffle bag under his sweat shirt before walking into the bank about 4pm June 7.

“We took the keys out of his car,” Catchings said. The suspect had left his vehicle running. “As he came back, we had our gear on and arrested him.”

As the suspect was going back to his vehicle he was ditching his clothes. Underneath what bank employees saw was a business suit, Catchings said.

“He knew what he was doing. This didn’t appear to be his first time,” Catchings said. Though, he also said he isn’t aware Facchain has any priors.

The rental vehicle Facchain was driving had false plates over the original ones, according to Catchings.

A handgun was recovered from the vehicle.

Facchain was booked into the El Dorado County Jail. South Lake Tahoe police detectives are handling the investigation. The FBI has also been called in, as is protocol with bank robberies.

Catchings wouldn’t say why SLEDNET was in the area to begin with.