Ingleside man sentenced to 22 years for causing police chase
An Ingleside man who a judge said caused a "horror show" during a 2014 Lake County police chase was sentenced to 22 years in prison Friday.
Ronald Mass, 20, will spend seven years behind bars for unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, 10 years for aggravated driving under the influence, and three years for failure to remain at the scene of an accident with injuries. Mass received an additional two years in prison for various other charges including theft and attempted theft.
Lake County Judge George Strickland ruled all the sentences must be served consecutively.
Several other charges Maas was found guilty of were vacated by Strickland.
Maas apologized during the three-hour hearing to the five people who were injured that night, saying he had a "complete and total mental breakdown" due to personal and family stress.
"There's nothing I can do or say to take back that night," he said. "The guilt is eating me alive."
Strickland said the sentence protects the people of Lake County. He also said Maas is a "maximum risk to reoffend."
"What happened that evening was no less than a horror show for the people of Lake County," he said.
Maas was found guilty July 1 for starting a police chase that began in Round Lake and ended hours later in Third Lake. Witnesses testified during the weeklong trial that Maas was drinking alcohol and using heroin for two or three hours before leaving in a stolen vehicle to go to a friend's residence with a 15-year-old girlfriend about 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 13.
On the way, a police officer attempted to pull over the car near Washington Street and Cedar Lake Avenue in Round Lake. Maas stopped momentarily, then sped off, authorities said.
The officer briefly gave chase but ended the pursuit to avoid a possible crash. About 15 minutes later, the stolen vehicle was found rolled over in a ditch in Lake Villa, police said.
Maas and his passenger ran through a cornfield, stole a Ford F-350 pickup and were chased by officers numerous times during the next two hours.
At one point, police cornered him near Route 134 and Forest Avenue in Ingleside, but he drove around a blockade of three police cars and slammed into a pickup truck, police said. Maas backed into a squad car, slammed into the pickup, then tried to drive away.
A Round Lake Heights police officer fired three shots, and one hit Maas in the cheek, authorities said.
Maas tried to run over the officer before driving away. He was charged with attempted murder but was found not guilty at trial, authorities said.
The chase ended when Maas flipped the stolen truck on Route 45 near Third Lake after a crash with another vehicle. He fled on foot, but was arrested trying to steal a vehicle from a farm, police said.
Maas had a .11 blood-alcohol level, above the legal limit of .08, authorities said. He also had traces of cannabis, cocaine and opiates in his system.
Defense attorney Eric Rinehart said Friday Maas deserved the least prison time possible, and requested rehabilitation in Lake County. He said Maas was a "scared kid making terrible, terrible decisions."