Rockford Man Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Cocaine and Selling Firearms

ROCKFORD - A Rockford man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for trafficking cocaine and selling firearms in Rockford.

ROGELIO IBARRA, 34, pleaded guilty earlier this year to distribution of cocaine and the unlawful possession of firearms. U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston on Tuesday sentenced Ibarra to 76 months in federal prison.

Ibarra, a leader of the Rockford chapter of the "Insane Unknowns" street gang, admitted in a plea agreement that in 2021 and 2022 he and other gang leaders would distribute cocaine to Insane Unknown members to sell on the streets and fund the gang's criminal activities. Ibarra also admitted that despite prior felony convictions, he possessed five firearms and sold those firearms to another individual.

The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office, Rockford Police Department, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in the investigation. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) - the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney's Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.