More than two years after his conviction for making terror threats against governmental facilities in Lake County, a California man was sentenced to six years in prison — then released soon after due to time already spent in custody.
Daniel Pederson, 36, was sentenced June 27 by Judge Mark Levitt to six years in prison, the minimum term for his March 2016 conviction of making terrorism threats against the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan and the Gurnee Police Department.
Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Callinan had asked Levitt for a six-and-a-half year sentence on behalf of the state.
Because the sentence was to be served at 50 percent, and Pederson had been given credit for more than three years in the Lake County jail and a secure state mental health facility, he was only required to be transferred to an Illinois Department of Corrections facility for a brief period to undergo intake and processing, authorities said.
Pederson was released from prison July 3, according to the Department of Corrections.
Pederson must now serve a three-year period of parole, known as supervised release, with conditions for that period set by the Department of Corrections, Callinan said.
Pederson was chastised by the judge on more than one occasion for outbursts in court, some involving profanity, during pre-sentencing hearings.
Levitt found Pederson unfit for sentencing twice prior to sentencing, and both times he was sent to a state Department of Human Services health facility in Elgin for treatment.
Pederson also said he was unable to work with his court-appointed public defenders, whom Levitt eventually allowed the defendant to dismiss earlier this year.
At that point, Pederson was allowed to serve as his own attorney, and did so for the final hearings leading up to his sentencing.
The case against Pederson began on Dec. 12, 2014, when prosecutors said Pederson called the Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services and said he was going to “kill people” and “light up” the courthouse and the Gurnee Police Department.
His March 2016 jury conviction came after Pederson initially accepted, but then rejected, a negotiated plea deal. After the plea deal was scrapped, the charges against him were reinstated.
Under terms of the failed plea deal, he would have received time served and probation more than two years ago.
Under sentencing guidelines for his conviction, he faced between six and 30 years in prison at 50 percent.
Pederson, whose courtroom outbursts led to the mental fitness evaluations and treatment, maintained throughout his legal proceedings that the charges against him were part of a conspiracy involving, among others, the circuit court, prosecutors and Lake County.
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Pederson said that the charges against him were due to “a third-party, fabricated bomb threat,” and his comments in court included “you’re running a racket here,” that the trial process was “rigged,” and that Lake County is “corrupt as (profanity).”