PEORIA: Former NFL star released from Tazewell jail
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<p align="center">By Jacqueline Koch
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<p align="center">of the Journal Star
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<p align="justify">Pekin
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<p align="justify"><font face="Nimrod MT" size="1">- Former NFL lineman Bill Maas was released from the Tazewell County Jail on Sunday morning, a day after he was arrested in East Peoria on drug and weapons charges.</font><font face="ITC Franklin Gothic Std Bk Cd" size="1">
<p align="center">Jacqueline Koch can be reached at 686-3251 or jkoch@pjstar.com.
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<p align="justify">He and his companion, Sarah J. Murphy, 27, were ordered to appear in Tazewell County court on Aug. 21 to face charges of possessing a controlled substance and possessing marijuana. Maas also faces a charge of unlawful use of a weapon.
<p align="justify">About 11:20 p.m. Friday, Illinois State Police stopped Maas, 45, and passenger Sarah J. Murphy, 27, both of Lee's Summit, Mo., in Maas' 2005 Hummer during a roadside check at Highview Road in East Peoria.
<p align="justify">Police said Maas seemed nervous, but consented to a vehicle search. The search turned up 5 grams of suspected marijuana, 6 grams of suspected cocaine, 28 Ecstacy pills and a .22 caliber revolver, police said. Officers seized the vehicle and arrested the pair about 2:13 a.m Saturday.
<p align="justify">Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz said the hearing date will allow investigators to positively identify the substances found with the pair, whom some expected to appear at the bond hearing.
<p align="justify">"We tried to handle this case like any other case," Umholtz said Sunday. "Generally we give a notice to appear until such time the crime lab can complete an analysis on the substance."
<p align="justify">State Police Trooper Tony Halsey said tests on the probably will be conducted at the crime lab in Morton, and results will take between 20 and 30 days.
<p align="justify">"It depends how busy it is," Halsey said.
<p align="justify">Some of Maas' acquaintances gathered at the Tazewell County Justice Center on Sunday for the hearing but wouldn't comment on the case or why the two-time National Football League All-Pro selection was in East Peoria.
<p align="justify">Maas was named the 1984 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and played for the Kansas City Chiefs until 1992 before joining the Green Bay Packers in 1993. Originally from Pennsylvania, Maas also worked as a broadcaster, studio anchor and game analyst for the FOX network and reported games last season in a lesser role.
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