Rockford Illinois Man Crashes Car Loaded with Guns, Drugs, Money

An Illinois man took off from police when they attempted a stop earlier this week and a short time later crashed his vehicle that was stuffed with weapons, weed, and a large amount of cash.

What is the Rockford Police SCOPE Team?

SCOPE stands for Specialized Community Oriented Police Enforcement and is "responsible for supporting the patrol and detective functions in unmarked vehicles by targeting high crime areas within the city with an emphasis on areas of repeated citizen complaints of criminal activity."

On Tuesday night (3/19) around 10:20 pm, officers from Rockford PD's SCOPE team were in the southeast side of the city when a vehicle they attempted to stop at the intersection of 24th Street and Wesleyan Avenue, took off at a high rate of speed.

Suspect Crashes Into Another Vehicle Fleeing from Rockford Police

Just over a mile away from where the suspect sped away from the SCOPE team, the Winnebago County Sheriffs Office were on the scene of a two-vehicle crash at Charles and 20th Street that involved the suspect.

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The suspect, who was the sole occupant in his car, and a driver in the other vehicle had minor injuries and were treated on the scene.

Drugs, Guns, and Money Discovered During Crash Investigation

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While investigating the scene of the accident, Winnebago County Sheriff Deputies located the following inside of the suspects vehicle:

a loaded handgun that was reported stolen out of Rockford
extended magazine and laser attachment for the gun
additional ammunition
several baggies of cannabis
drug paraphanalia
undisclosed amount of money

Rockford Police have identified the suspect as 26-year-old James Willams of Rockford, Illinois.

The Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office has charged Williams with 8 different counts including Armed Violence, Unlawful Use of a Weapon By a Felon, Aggravated Fleeing to Elude, among other charges.

According to the press release from the Rockford Police Department, the charges against James Williams are "merely accusations and all individuals are considered innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law."