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St. Charles police arrest man, 21, with loaded defaced gun, marijuana

A Sycamore man was arrested this week on charges he possessed a loaded handgun with a defaced serial number, along with nearly a half pound of marijuana and a digital scale.

Isaiah Baltimore, 21, of the 600 block of Peace Road, faces charges of felony armed violence, possession of more than 100 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a handgun with a defaced serial number, possession of a firearm while subject to an order of protection and unlawful use of a weapon, according to Kane County court records.

The most severe felony charge, armed violence, carries a punishment of six to 30 years in prison with no chance of probation.

St. Charles Deputy Police Chief David Kintz said an officer on patrol pulled over Baltimore in his 2004 Hyundai Sonata because of a cracked windshield at 11:56 a.m. Wednesday as he drove west on the 300 block of West Main Street.

Baltimore at first continued to drive and "the whole time it looks like the driver is ducking down trying to hide something," Kintz said.

When the officer walked up to the car, he could smell an "overwhelming" odor of dried cannabis coming from the car, Kintz said. The officer told Baltimore this, and he grabbed a bag containing about 11 grams of marijuana from the car and handed to the officer, Kintz said. The officer was not convinced that bag was all that Baltimore had and searched the rest of the car, finding a backpack in the trunk that contained a loaded .38 caliber pistol with its serial number defaced, a large bag of marijuana, a digital scale and plastic sandwich bags, Kintz said.

About seven ounces of marijuana was seized, according to Kintz and court records.

Kintz credited the patrol officer for heads-up police work and said authorities would be investigating the gun's origins.

"We will obviously be trying to track back and determine where it was taken from or used in any other crimes," Kintz said.

Baltimore is next due in court on Nov. 1. Information on his bail and the incident that resulted in an order of protection being obtained against him was not immediately available.

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