Today, Friday, August 23, 2024 a Lake County Judge sentenced a man to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a 2020 fatal DUI rollover crash.
Jose S. Aguirre, 30, was convicted on June 6, 2024, of nine counts of Aggravated DUI, after a jury trial before the Honorable Judge D. Christopher Lombardo.
Today at the sentencing hearing, prosecutors asked that Aguirre be sentenced to at least 18 years in the Department of Corrections.
“While we are disappointed the sentence was not higher, this prison term sends the correct message that dangerous drivers will be held accountable in Lake County. And we continue to grieve with the victims over this horrific crime. We will support them and continue our work with our community partners such as schools, the Health Department, and Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists to increase awareness and save lives. I want to continue to thank our experienced trial team and victim-support professionals for their work and their assistance to the impacted families.”
— Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart (after court ruling)
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 had reached 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.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Koehl and Assistant State’s Attorney Eduardo Zermeno argued to Judge Lombardo that Aguirre’s behavior on the night of the rollover crash was extremely reckless and selfish. Prosecutors pointed out that Aguirre showed a complete disregard for the safety of the passengers in the vehicle when he made the decision to attempt and elude the police by exceeding speeds of over 110-mph and argued that these irresponsible actions led to the deaths of two people.
Sentencing laws allowed Judge Lombardo to sentence Aguirre to a range of 6 to 28 years in prison with the term to be served at 85%.
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 received 611 days of credit time served.
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