Lake County Gazette

Today, a Lake County Judge sentenced Jose S. Aguirre to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a fatal DUI rollover crash that occurred in 2020.

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.

At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors requested that Aguirre be sentenced to at least 18 years in the Department of Corrections.

Following the court’s ruling, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart stated, “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.”

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 that the Chevy Traverse reached a speed of 123 mph in a 45-mph zone and terminated the brief chase due to safety concerns.

Shortly after terminating the chase, the officer discovered that the Chevy Traverse had crashed into a wooded area near Route 134 and Main St. in Round Lake. Juan Renteria-Becerra, 34, and Edgar Herrera, 30, were passengers in the vehicle and were pronounced deceased at the scene. Jorge Trevino, 32, another passenger in the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

During the sentencing hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Koehl and Assistant State’s Attorney Eduardo Zermeno argued that Aguirre’s behavior on the night of the rollover crash was extremely reckless and selfish. Prosecutors emphasized that Aguirre showed complete disregard for his passengers' safety when he decided to elude police by exceeding speeds of over 110 mph. They argued these irresponsible actions led to two deaths.

Sentencing laws allowed Judge Lombardo to sentence Aguirre within a range of six to twenty-eight years in prison with terms served at eighty-five percent.

Prior to trial, Aguirre was held in Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond set before bail reform took effect. After his guilty verdicts were delivered by Judge Lombardo revoked his ability post bail entirely; having served already six hundred eleven days credit time towards sentence completion during incarceration pretrial proceedings.