Man with half-pound of marijuana, loaded gun sentenced to boot camp
A 22-year-old Sycamore man who was caught with nearly a half-pound of marijuana and a loaded gun after a 2017 traffic stop in St. Charles has pleaded guilty and will be recommended for a six-month boot camp.
Isaiah Baltimore, of the 600 block of South Peace Road, faced a minimum six-year prison term if convicted of armed violence, the most severe of 12 felony charges stemming from an Oct. 18, 2017 traffic stop on the 300 block of West Main Street in St. Charles, according to Kane County court records.
According to police, an officer pulled over Baltimore because of a cracked windshield on his 2004 Hyundai Sonata. Police said Baltimore continued to drive while he ducked down and appeared to be trying to hide something.
The officer smelled an "overwhelming" odor of dried cannabis coming from the car, and Baltimore admitted to having marijuana and handed over a bag containing 11 grams, police said.
The officer, however, was not convinced that was the extent of the drugs and searched the rest of the car, and found a backpack in the trunk that contained a loaded .38 caliber pistol with its serial number defaced, a large bag of about seven ounces of marijuana, a digital scale and plastic sandwich bags, according to police.
Baltimore was scheduled for a jury trial in Kane County this week, but instead pleaded guilty this month to manufacture/delivery of 30 to 500 grams of marijuana, a felony punishable by a top prison term of five years, records show.
Judge D.J. Tegeler accepted the guilty plea, in which prosecutors dismissed all other charges.
Baltimore was sentenced to the maximum five years on the marijuana charge, with a recommendation from Tegeler for the Impact Incarceration Program, or boot camp, records show.
Officials at the Illinois Department of Corrections have the final say on whether Baltimore is accepted, but rejection is very rare. If he fails to complete boot camp, he must serve the five-year prison term instead.
Baltimore also must pay $2,670 in fines and fees, court records show.