La Salle man agrees to stay locked up on gun, drug felony charges

A La Salle man charged with multiple gun and drug felonies has a new lawyer, new trial dates and, in a likely first for La Salle County, an agreement that he’ll stay locked up.

Nathan C. Price, 43, appeared Wednesday on his pending felony case in La Salle County Circuit Court. He had been charged with six felonies led by one count of armed violence and being an armed habitual criminal, both Class X felonies.

On Tuesday, a grand jury added a seventh count in connection with armed violence.

Price’s sentencing range is lengthy but so far uncertain. Three of his charges are nonprobational felonies, but some counts carry elevated sentencing ranges and/or are subject to back-to-back prison terms.

Price now is represented by La Salle attorney Louis Bertrand, who entered his appearance and told Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. that he advised Price not to fight the state’s petition to detain him in the La Salle County Jail. (Illinois now is a no-cash bail state, and suspects are detained on a case-by-case basis.)

Price chose so primarily because remaining in custody means fast-tracking his case. Detained suspects get priority, and Bertrand succeeded in moving Price’s trial from July to May 20. Bertrand also acknowledged that Price was unlikely to win release.

That might be unprecedented. First Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Jason Good and Public Defender Ryan Hamer both said they were unaware of a case, since the adoption of no-cash bail, in which a felony suspect declined to fight detention.

Price next will appear for a motion hearing May 2. A final pretrial conference will be May 16.

Price was charged Jan. 30 after Streator police conducted a traffic stop in the 1600 block of North Bloomington Street. There, a K-9 unit alerted officers to the presence of narcotics and, after a search, Price is alleged to have been in possession of both powder and rock cocaine.

In another pocket, police said they found a Crown Royal bag containing a .22-caliber pistol. The tandem possession of the firearm and purported narcotics, coupled with his criminal history, made him eligible for the armed violence and armed habitual criminal charges.