Man Gets 18 Years for Racial Hate Campaign

A San Diego man convicted on federal charges in connection with a racial hate campaign he waged against a black family here in 1984, was sentenced Monday to 18 years in prison and fined $800,000.

However, the sentence could be reduced pending the outcome of a psychological evaluation that the defendant, Michael Eugene Maas, will undergo within 90 days. Asst. U.S. Atty. Lynne Lasry, who prosecuted the case, said U.S. District Judge Earl B. Gilliam 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 terms of a plea bargain, Maas admitted to erecting a burning cross on the family’s front lawn, setting fire to their pickup truck when it was parked in their driveway and placing a racist hate letter in their mailbox.

Family Forced to Move

The incidents, which rocked the neighborhood in San Diego’s Normal Heights district, occurred shortly after George Shelton, his fiancee, Michelle Washington and her young son moved into their home in October, 1984. Ultimately, the campaign forced the black family to leave the neighborhood.

Maas also pleaded guilty to a related 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.

Mass was sentenced to one year for each of the civil rights counts, seven years for tampering with a witness and eight years for the drug charge.

In return, prosecutors agreed to drop six additional felony charges relating to Maas’ behavior toward Tolentino, who he chased with a car and threatened with a rifle in the erroneous belief 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 already 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 San Diego convenience store after the man spoke to Tolentino. The victim, whose name was not released, was not injured.

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

Prepared Statement

Prior to 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.”

Gilliam made no comments from the bench before passing sentence.

During the hearing, defense attorney Mario Conte asked that his client be sentenced to a maximum of five years in custody at a federal facility where he could undergo psychiatric care.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that Maas’ offenses merited 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 following 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.”

After the psychological exam, Maas will reappear before Gilliam for a possible modification of sentence. A court date has not yet been set.

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