PEKIN, Ill. (AP) -Former NFL lineman Bill Maas and his girlfriend will serve two years of probation for gun and drug charges under a plea agreement.
Maas, 45, and Sarah J. Murphy, 27, both of Lee's Summit, Mo., agreed to fines, plus community service and drug treatment programs in their home state, instead of jail time in Illinois, the (Peoria) Journal Star reported.
The agreement was worked out Monday, Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz told the paper.
Maas, also a former Fox Sports analyst, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful use of a weapon, while prosecutors dropped two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Murphy pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance and a second count was dropped.
Illinois State Police said they found a bag of cocaine, a bag of Ecstasy tablets and a loaded .22-caliber revolver after they stopped Maas' Hummer during a roadside safety check July 6 in East Peoria.
Maas must complete 100 hours of community service, while Murphy will have to complete 30 hours. Both were fined $1,000 and will have to pay other fines and costs.
Umholtz said that he might reinstate the original charges if the two fail to comply with the probation terms.
Successful completion of the probation means Maas will be able to keep his job as a personality on TV hunting shows, which requires him to handle firearms, Umholtz said.
``We wanted to allow this defendant to remain employed,'' he said. ``We always have an interest in defendants remaining employed.''
In September, Maas was detained at Kansas City International Airport after federal screeners found a 9 mm handgun in his carry-on bag. The weapon was confiscated and Mass was questioned and released.
Maas was rookie of the year with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1984 and played with them until 1992. He later played for the Green Bay Packers before working as a Fox NFL analyst from 1996 to 2006.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
