More jail time for Naperville man responsible for 2001 fatal crash
A Naperville man who killed a friend in a 2001 DUI crash has received a second prison sentence for two new convictions for driving with a revoked license.
Sean McNees, 30, was sentenced Tuesday to 8½ years for driving on two separate occasions while his driver's license was revoked.
McNees faced a minimum of six years in prison because of his 2001 reckless homicide conviction and a 2005 DUI arrest, DuPage County state's attorney's spokesman Paul Darrah said Wednesday.
McNees was 16 and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol in December 2001 when he lost control of his father's sport utility vehicle in Naperville and crashed into a cluster of trees.
Stacey Blundell, 17, of Naperville, who was wearing a seat belt in the back seat, was killed in the crash. A second passenger, described as McNees' girlfriend, survived.
Ten months after the fatal crash, McNees received a 180-day jail sentence and probation in exchange for pleading guilty to reckless homicide. Prosecutors originally wanted him to serve jail time, but Stacey's parents urged them to accept the plea agreement.
McNees was set free in March 2003.
He was back before a judge in late summer of that same year after Naperville police cited him for underage drinking. The judge dismissed the allegations, citing a lack of evidence.
One year later, prosecutors again asked a judge to send McNees to prison, this time for missing a few appointments with his probation officer. McNees went back to jail for 20 days. His period of probation also was extended another two years.
Nine months later, McNees was arrested on charges of DUI and sentenced to six years in prison.
The first of his two most recent offenses occurred around 7:15 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2014, when McNees was involved in a crash while driving west on Hobson Road at the intersection of Wehrli Road in Naperville. Following the crash, prosecutors said McNees exchanged information with the driver of the other vehicle and then left. Once home, however, the driver of the other vehicle contacted Naperville police.
When officers searched for McNees' name in law enforcement databases, they learned that at the time of the crash his license was revoked. Officers also learned that at the time of the crash McNees was out on bond following an aggravated driving while license revoked charge issued in May 2014.
On Sept. 28, 2014, officers went to McNees' home to discuss the crash. Prosecutors said McNees initially denied driving the vehicle and told officers he had loaned his car to a friend. Following an investigation, officers learned McNees was indeed driving the vehicle at the time of the crash.
McNees pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license on Dec. 18, 2014.
Previously, in May 2014, McNees was charged with driving with a revoked license after a traffic stop in Naperville.
"Since that fatal Dec. 21, 2001, crash, every time (Sean) McNees got behind the wheel of a car he thumbed his nose at the law," DuPage State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "McNees' time behind bars, however, did not seem to alter his opinion that somehow he was above the law and two aggravated driving while license revoked charges later he finds himself once again facing a significant amount of time behind bars."
McNees will be required to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole. He received a sentence of 3½ years in one of the cases and a sentence of five years in the second, which will be served consecutively resulting in the 8½-year sentence.