(Lake County, IL) Late afternoon, Thursday, June 6, 2024, a jury trial concluded in the Lake County Courthouse with guilty verdicts on all counts related to a 2020 fatal DUI rollover crash in Round Lake.
Jose S. Aguirre, 30, was convicted of nine counts of Aggravated DUI, a class 2 felony. Aguirre is facing up to 28 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
After the verdict, State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart stated, “We will continue to hold dangerous and intoxicated drivers responsible for their criminal, dangerous, and immoral acts. This is a preventable tragedy, and all parts of our community must continue to raise awareness about how wrong and reckless intoxicated driving is. Our team of prosecutors helped bring justice to these families, and we will always support them.”
The jury trial began on Monday, June 3, 2024, lasting four days. Jurors heard from different state witnesses, including an accident reconstruction expert and law enforcement officers, who explained how the collision occurred and the physical state of the defendant at the time of the accident.
The defendant chose to testify on the last day of the trial and denied being the driver of the vehicle, although eyewitnesses testified to seeing Aguirre get into the driver’s seat and expert witnesses testified that the injuries Aguirre sustained from the crash were consistent with Aguirre being the driver.
On September 27, 2020, around 3:20 a.m., a Round Lake Police Officer attempted to stop a white Chevy Traverse that was speeding. The vehicle, later determined to be owned and driven by Aguirre, refused to stop. The officer reported the Chevy Traverse to reach a speed of 123 mph in a 45-mph zone and terminated the brief chase due to safety concerns.
Shortly after the chase was terminated, the officer came upon the Chevy Traverse which had crashed into a wooded area near Route 134 and Main Street in Round Lake. Juan Renteria-Becerra, 34, and Edgar Herrera, 30, were both passengers in the vehicle and were pronounced deceased at the scene. Jorge Trevino, 32, was also a passenger in the vehicle and sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) determined Aguirre was the driver of the vehicle and was traveling at speeds over 110 mph when Aguirre lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway, and entered in the wooded area striking several trees and rolling over before coming to a rest on its roof.
An arrest warrant was issued for Aguirre in October 2021, and after avoiding being arrested for over a year, police apprehended Aguirre in late December 2022.
Prior to the trial, Aguirre was being held in the Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond. (This cash bond was set by a judge before the effective date of bail reform.) After the guilty verdict, Judge Lombardo revoked Aguirre’s ability to post bail.
Aguirre’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 15, 2024, at 9:00 a.m.
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