A Lee County judge sentenced a Wisconsin man March 19 to a maximum of 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty that day to two felony charges tied to a 2022 police chase in which an Illinois state trooper was shot at, but not injured.

Michael P. Goodman, 42, of Madison, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 3 felony, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, a Class 1 felony.

The charges against him, filed Oct. 31, 2022, also originally included two counts of armed violence, a Class X felony; aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony; criminal damage to property, a Class 4 felony; and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, fentanyl, a Class 4 felony, court records show. Those charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

The plea came about three months after Goodman decided to represent himself and filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him. His motion largely argued that the charges violate state and federal double jeopardy law, that a person cannot be prosecuted more than once for the same offense, because he also faced charges in Wisconsin related to the police chase, court records show.

[ Lee County judge denies Wisconsin man’s motion to dismiss charges tied to 2022 police chase, shooting ]

The lengthy police chase began about 8 p.m. Oct. 27, 2022, when Illinois State Police responded to a report of a shooting on Interstate 39 in La Salle County. At milepost 77, near Mendota, an individual in the suspect vehicle fired multiple shots toward the ISP squad car and hit the car, but not the officer, according to an Illinois State Police news release.

The vehicle briefly eluded police, but was found again on I-39 in Wisconsin. It eventually ran out of gas in Clinton, Wisconsin, where Goodman was taken into custody along with Michael D. Winch, 44, of Brooklyn, Wisconsin, and Heather N. Hyatt, 47, of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, according to the release.

Goodman was later identified as the driver of the vehicle which, inside, police found cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana, digital scales with white powdered residue and live ammunition, Lee County court records show.

At a hearing Jan. 12, Lee County Judge Jacquelyn D. Ackert denied Goodman’s motion to dismiss, agreeing with Lee County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael O’Brien’s argument that double jeopardy doesn’t apply across state lines.

On March 19, Goodman appeared before Ackert again, acting as his own attorney. Goodman, pleaded guilty and waived his right to a sentencing hearing and a pre-sentence report, which provides a detailed overview of the defendant’s background and the offenses.

Ackert sentenced him to 12 years, with one year of supervised release, for the drug charge to be served concurrently with a 10-year sentence with six months of supervised release for the weapon charge. She ruled that at least half of those sentences must be served before Goodman is eligible for parole and gave credit for 1,239 days that Goodman served in Lee County Jail as his case was proceeding toward trial. Ackert also ordered Goodman to pay $2,225 in fines, court records show.

Winch and Hyatt are still facing charges in Lee County related to the police chase, court records show.

Winch is charged with six felony offenses that include armed violence, plus aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and criminal damage to property. His next court date is set for 1:30 p.m. May 7, with Ackert, records show.

Hyatt is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Her next court date is set for 11 a.m. April 15, with Ackert, records show.