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La Salle man gets 6 years for cocaine, loaded handgun found in Ottawa traffic stop · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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Salle man gets six years for cocaine loaded handgun, found in Ottawa
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traffic stop.
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Written by Tom Collins. This article is being read by an automated
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voice brought to you by Everlett. A LaSalle man was sentenced Thursday
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to six years in prison for possessing cocaine and a loaded handgun,
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both seized following a May traffic stop. Christopher Lopez, forty nine, could
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have faced up to fifteen years in prison if convicted of unlawful
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possession of a controlled substance. His lesser charge of unlawful possession of
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a weapon by a felon precluded any possibility of probation. But Lopez
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instead entered into a plea agreement in La Salle County Circle Court
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that limits his actual time served to less than three years. Additionally,
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attorneys and circuit judge Michelle A. Vascogni agreed to a finding that
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his crimes were fueled by addiction, making him eligible for drug programs
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in the Illinois Department of Corrections. I'm ready to do treatment, Lopez
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said when offered a chance to speak. Lopez was detained May 5
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after a traffic stop in the 1500 block of Route 71 in
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Ottawa yielded nearly 5 grams of cocaine and a loaded.45 caliber handgun.
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Lopez, a passenger, had some cocaine on him, and the remainder was
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located in the passenger compartment. The pistol was recovered beneath a seat.