An Elkhart man who was found with more than $2,000 of methamphetamine — and a loaded Magnum revolver — during a traffic stop in Edwardsburg will be spending at least the next seven years behind bars.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced 36-year-old Ryan Lee Gibson to a minimum term of seven years to a maximum term of 20 years in prison during his appearance in Cass County court Thursday morning, on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, possession of methamphetamine, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana.

Gibson was also given a mandatorily consecutive two-year prison term for a charge of felony firearms.

According to the judge, Gibson was arrested on Dec. 7 of last year after officers with the Edwardsburg Police Department pulled over the vehicle he was riding in on US-12, on suspicions that he and the other passengers were involved in a drug deal minutes earlier in the parking lot of Spicy’s restaurant.

Officers found Gibson to be in possession of a double-edged knife and some marijuana during an initial search of his persons. Upon further inspection of the vehicle, the officers discovered a backpack near where Gibson was sitting that contained around 9 grams of methamphetamine, with a street value of nearly $2,000, Dodge said.

On top of that, police recovered a loaded six-shot .357 caliber handgun that was resting next to where Gibson was sitting.

“You deny that it was your weapon, but you were in constructive possession of it,” Dodge said. “It was sitting next to you, and you were the only guy sitting in the back seat.”

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik said that the defendant was “a very seriously violent individual,” who had told the police after his apprehension that he was considering killing the two officers who stopped the car.

“The only thing that stopped him, the only reason he did not do it was because of the number of witnesses that would have been able to testify against him if he had committed this offense,” Machnik said.

On top of a prior conviction for strangulation, Gibson also has several felony charges pending against him in Indiana, the prosecutor said. Machnik asked the judge to sentence Gibson to at least 10 years in prison due to the danger he poses to the public.

Gibson told Dodge that he accepted responsibility for his actions that night, which were fueled by his severe addiction to methamphetamine at the time, he said. Since his arrest, he has taken the opportunity to get himself clean, he said.

“It was a rescue, not an arrest,” Gibson said. “I consider it a blessing. I would have probably been dead a month later.”

Gibson was given credit for 260 days already served behind bars.

Also sentenced Thursday:

• Jessica Marie Johnson, 30, of Niles, to two years of probation for conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine and operating a lab involving methamphetamine.

• Jacqueline Louise Armstrong, of Edwardsburg, to three years of probation for embezzlement.

• Brett Gilpin, 26, of Edwardsburg, to one year in jail for operating while intoxicated, causing death.

• Ryan Ray Deweerd, 32, of Cassopolis, to three years of probation for methamphetamine-related charges.