La Salle man held for armed violence after Streator arrest

A La Salle man faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of charges in connection with the seizure of a gun and drugs Tuesday in Streator.

Nathan C. Price, 43, appeared Thursday in La Salle County Circuit Court for a detention hearing on three felonies led by armed violence. Price and Public Defender Ryan Hamer asked for, and were granted, a week to prepare to argue against pretrial detention.

Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia agreed and set a detention hearing for Feb. 8. For at least the next week, however, Price is staying in the La Salle County Jail.

Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Laura Hall said Streator police conducted a traffic stop Tuesday in the 1600 block of North Bloomington Street. There, a K-9 unit alerted officers to the presence of narcotics, and Price was charged after a search found both powder and rock cocaine.

In another pocket, Hall said, police found a Crown Royal bag containing a .22-caliber pistol.

Citing Price’s criminal history, prosecutors filed a pair of Class X felonies – armed violence and armed habitual criminal, neither of which carries any possibility of probation.

The armed violence charge carries 15 to 30 years in prison. Price also faces one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), a Class 1 felony carrying up to 15 years. He could be eligible for back-to-back prison terms if convicted of the possession and armed violence counts.