A Streator man is going to prison for seven years for possessing a loaded ghost gun while wearing body armor.

Brenden Ortman, 20, appeared Wednesday in La Salle County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years with no possibility of probation.

In exchange for his plea, La Salle County prosecutors dismissed two lesser counts and agreed to a near-minimum sentence. Ortman is eligible for day-for-day credit and, with about five months’ credit for time served, could be released from prison in 2029.

Ortman declined an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. before sentencing.

Ortman was charged Nov. 20 after a state police trooper conducted a traffic stop in Streator. During the ensuing search, prosecutor Kelley Porter said in open court, the trooper located a ghost gun with an extended magazine and a 9mm round in the chamber.

Compounding the offense was that Ortman was wearing body armor and no Firearm Owner’s ID card, according to open-court statements.

(Actually, police also recovered a silencer. The resulting felony charge was dismissed as part of the plea.)

Ortman has been in custody since the traffic stop. La Salle County Judge Michael C. Jansz ruled out the possibility of pre-trial release at a November detention hearing.

“Those are not the kind of things you do by accident,” the judge ruled. “People don’t just ride around with that.”