Rockford fugitive caught for drug dealing and illegal weapons possession

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A fugitive from Rockford was caught Friday and is now under suspicion of drug dealing and illegal weapons possession.

Mikieon Taylor-Jones, 29, previously served a prison sentence for a 2016 shooting.

Court records show he was sentenced to 5 years in prison (with credit for a year and a half served) after accepting a plea deal for reduced charges, of aggravated discharge of a weapon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, in 2021. He was released on parole in August 2024.

Since that time, he was placed on Illinois’ Wanted Fugitives list and was targeted by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.

Members of the Task Force cooperated with Rockford Police officers and detectives to snare Taylor-Jones on Friday.

According to the charging documents, Taylor-Jones was arrested at a residence in the 1600 block of Brown Avenue around 6:30 a.m.

During the arrest, police said a loaded handgun with its serial number removed was found, along with 34.1 grams of cocaine packaged in individually wrapped baggies.

He was booked into the Winnebago County Jail on charges of possession of a firearm by a repeat felony offender, delivery of a controlled substance, unlawful use of weapons by a felon, and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.

In 2017, Rockford Police put out multiple media alerts for his arrest relating to shooting and domestic battery charges, and he was eventually apprehended in a foot chase with the Illinois State Police near Blackhawk Courts.

In 2020, he was a suspect in an Auburn Street shooting that resulted in a collision.