Ex-NFL player Maas arrested in East Peoria
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<p align="left">Bill Maas, a former NFL player who moved to game broadcasts, was arrested here late Friday after police found a handgun and an assortment of drugs in his vehicle during a roadside safety check.
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<p align="left">Maas, 45, of Lees Summit, Mo., was driving north with passenger Sarah J. Murphy, 27, also of Lees Summit, on Illinois Route 116 when his 2005 Hummer was stopped at an Illinois
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<p align="left">State Police Department roadside check at Highview Road.
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<p align="left">During the stop, Maas seemed nervous, police said in a news statement.
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<p align="left">Maas consented to a vehicle search. That's when police found a .22-caliber revolver, five grams of suspected marijuana, six grams of suspected cocaine and 28 pills of Ecstasy, they said.
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<p align="left">The pair were arrested and booked on charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Maas also was booked on a charge of unlawful use of a weapon.
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<p align="left">They were taken to the Tazewell County Jail and were expected to appear before a judge in a bond hearing this morning.
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<p align="left">Maas' vehicle was impounded, and the state police department is processing it for seizure.
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<p align="left">"We didn't recognize him until about 5 p.m. this afternoon," state police Trooper Tony Halsey said Saturday evening.
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<p align="left">Authorities didn't know of Maas' prominence until the media began contacting them for details of the arrest, Halsey said.
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<p align="left">The Pennsylvania native, a two-time National Football League All-Pro selection and 1984 Defensive Rookie of the Year, was drafted fifth overall that year by the Kansas City Chiefs. He played with them until 1992 and in 1993 with the Green Bay Packers.
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<p align="left">In 1996, Maas joined the NFL on FOX television game reporting team and, from 1998-01, served as studio anchor and game analyst. Last season he reported games for the network in a diminished role.
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<p align="left">He received a degree in administrative justice from the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a two-time All-American.
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<p align="left">Halsey said he had no idea why Maas was in the area, though the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino is less than a mile south of the arrest site.
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<p align="left">"That's the million-dollar question," he said.
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<p align="center">Cathy Bayer can be reached at 686-3196 or cbayer@pjstar.com.
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