Rick Waller

A man charged in Cary last year with being a felon in possession of a Federal S&W brand .40-caliber bullet and 1.5 grams of cocaine pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of a controlled substance.

Rick Waller, 35, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to the Class 4 felony and was sentenced to one year and six months in prison. When released, he will serve six months of mandatory supervised release, according to the judgment order signed by Judge Tiffany Davis filed in the McHenry County court.

Waller is required to serve half of the prison term and will receive credit for 280 days served in the county jail, the order said.

In exchange for his plea, a charge of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, a Class 3 felony, was dismissed, according to court records. In May 2023, Waller was convicted of reckless discharge of a firearm, making it illegal for him to have a firearm or ammunition in his possession, the indictment said. He was on probation when he was charged in this case, records show.

Cary police stopped Waller at 8:35 a.m., Dec. 4, 2023, on West Main Street at Prairie Street for displaying an expired vehicle registration, Cary Police Chief Patrick Finlon said at the time. Officers detected the odor of marijuana and conducted a consent search, which turned up 1.5 grams of cocaine in a small dark-colored plastic bag and ammunition, Finlon and the criminal complaint said.

At the time of his arrest, Waller was on felony probation for prior “violent offenses,” Judge Michael Chmiel said in a detention order filed Tuesday.