Staff Report

ROCKFORD – A Rockford man is charged with running a prostitution and illegal drug operation out of a home on the city’s near-east side. 

James Ford, 44, is charged with human trafficking, promoting prostitution, manufacturing cannabis, possession of a controlled substance, felon in possession of a weapon, and resisting a peace officer. 

According to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, charges against Ford stem from citizen complaints that drug sales were occurring in the 1200 block of 16th Avenue. As a result, investigators executed a search warrant at a residence on that block at approximately 9 a.m., Friday. 

“Deputies located marijuana, crack cocaine and ammunition,” the sheriff’s office said in a release. “Deputies also located evidence that the residence was being used for the promotion of prostitution.”

Ford was arrested at the scene of the search warrant and is being held without bond in the Winnebago County Jail.