Racist Maas Gets 18-Year Prison Term; to Be Tested

Michael Eugene Maas, the Normal Heights man convicted on federal charges of waging a racial hate campaign against a black family in 1984, was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison and fined $800,000.

The sentence by U.S. District Judge Earl B. Gilliam, which includes eight years on an unrelated drug charge, may be reduced, however, pending the outcome of a psychological evaluation Maas will undergo within the next 90 days. Assistant U.S. Atty. Lynne Lasry said the judge was required under law to impose the maximum sentence if he wished to have Maas examined.

Maas, 29, pleaded guilty in October to three misdemeanor civil rights violations in connection with his harassment of a black couple he sought to drive from the middle-class neighborhood they shared.

Under a plea bargain, Maas admitted to erecting a burning cross on the family’s front lawn, setting fire to their pickup truck while it was parked in their driveway and placing a racist hate letter in their mailbox.

The incidents, which rocked the usually peaceful Normal Heights neighborhood, occurred shortly after George Shelton; his fiancee, Michelle Washington, and her young son moved into their home on 35th Street in October, 1984. Ultimately, the campaign of terror forced the black family to leave the neighborhood, according to their grand jury testimony.

Maas also pleaded guilty to one felony count of threatening to kill or beat his ex-girlfriend, Deana Tolentino, if she cooperated as a witness in the case, and to an ancillary charge of manufacturing and possessing methamphetamine.

In return, prosecutors agreed to drop six additional felony charges relating to Maas’ behavior toward Tolentino, whom he chased with a car and threatened with a rifle in the erroneous belief that she had told the grand jury that he had terrorized the couple. In fact, Tolentino lied to the grand jury because she was in fear of Maas.

Maas is serving a combined nine-year sentence for breaking both of Tolentino’s arms with a spiked baseball bat and for a separate racial incident in April, 1985. In that episode, Maas attacked a black man with a machete outside a Normal Heights convenience store after the man spoke to Tolentino. The intended victim, whose name was not released, was not injured, but Maas suffered a broken shoulder.

Maas is in custody at the downtown federal Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he has been held without bail since his arrest last year.

Appearing in court before his sentencing Monday, Maas read a prepared statement before Judge Gilliam.

“Being sorry is not enough. . . . I realize I need help,” Maas said. “I wish to become an asset to society rather than the deficit I have been.”

During the hearing, defense attorney Mario Conte made no effort to excuse Maas’ actions. But he asked that his client be sentenced to a maximum of five years in custody at a federal prison where he could undergo psychiatric care.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that Maas’ string of offenses merit a sentence of at least 10 years in federal prison plus five years’ probation.

“My concern is, this man has not committed crimes for which he will receive a life sentence, and I believe it is very important that we monitor him once he does his time and gets out,” Lasry said after the sentencing.

“He is still young, and I am anxious to make sure that we do our best to protect society from him and prevent anything like this from ever happening again. This is a very emotional case, and we all have a lot of concern about what is going on with this young man. He has a real distorted view of relationships. We don’t want to see him claim any more victims.”

Gilliam, however, decided to impose the maximum sentence of 18 years to ensure that Maas will undergo psychological evaluation. After the psychological exam, Maas will reappear before Gilliam for a possible modification of sentence. No court date has been set.

According to prosecutors, the Maas case is the only one of its kind in recent memory in San Diego.

Earl Matthew Maas, Michael’s father, also was implicated in the racial hate campaign. Initially, Maas, 53, was charged with being an accessory after the fact and obstructing justice by hiding evidence that implicated his son in the attacks. Prosecutors also said the elder Maas terrorized a witness by placing a loaded, cocked pistol in his mouth.

Earl Maas, a self-employed electrician, denied the allegations. And prosecutors, while maintaining their position on his guilt, arranged a plea bargain in September in which he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of federal tax violations.

Under the agreement, the race-related charges against Earl Maas were dismissed and he was placed on two years’ probation.