Man ‘cowardly’ attacks, injures court security officer after being sentenced to 7 years in prison
Waukegan WI Feb 18 2023 A man “cowardly” attacked a court security officer and injured them after a Lake County judge sentenced him to seven years in prison on Wednesday for a shooting in Gurnee.
Maseo B. Rosser, 22, of Winthrop Harbor, was at the Lake County Circuit Court in Waukegan around 4:15 p.m. Wednesday.
He was being sentenced after pleading guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm, court records show.
The charge stemmed from Rosser firing shots at a homeowner who confronted him and a second suspect during a car burglary in Gurnee in June 2020.
Rosser was out on bond prior to the sentencing.
Lake County Judge George Strickland during the Wednesday hearing sentenced Rosser to seven years and six months in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
A Lake County sheriff’s court officer began the process of taking Rosser into custody, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
Rosser attacked the court officer by punching him in the face and headbutting him, Covelli said.
Another court officer and two deputies who were in the courtroom were eventually able to subdue Rosser, who continued to resist arrest for several minutes.
Covelli said that Rosser then verbally threatened a local police officer, who was in the courtroom after testifying at the sentencing hearing.
The court officer sustained a broken nose as a result of the attack.
Rosser was taken into custody and remanded to the Lake County Jail.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the incident and approved charges of aggravated battery to a peace officer, resisting a peace officer causing injury and aggravated assault.
Rosser is scheduled to appear in court Friday on his new charges.
“Instead of accepting accountability for his past actions, this individual made the poor choice to attack our staff, which is nothing short of cowardly,” Sheriff John Idleburg said.
“I, along with all of our staff, are wishing our court officer a speedy recovery, and we look forward to having him back at work soon,” Idleburg said.
