Washington Prosecutors said Tuesday that Kenneth Josiah Hampton, 26, of Washington, D.C., had been convicted of cocaine trafficking and firearms violations after a six-day jury trial in U.S. District Court.
Along with associated gun charges, Hampton—who also goes by his rap nickname, Carti Ears—was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone and marijuana. Hampton sold narcotics on social media by posing as The Neighborhood Pharmacist and sharing pictures of cash, guns, and marijuana with ads for opioids, according to evidence produced during the trial.
In October 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) carried out a search warrant at Hampton’s home and found three firearms, multiple pounds of marijuana, promethazine, counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl and prescription drugs, and thousands of dollars in cash. Co-conspirator Myles Allen, who earlier entered a guilty plea to possessing a handgun in furtherance of a narcotics trafficking offense and was given a five-year jail sentence in December 2023, shared the home with Hampton.
Hampton is now subject to harsh punishments, such as a required minimum sentence of five years in jail with a maximum of life in prison for possessing a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for drug trafficking offenses. On March 19, 2025, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta will preside over the sentencing hearing.
With support from the DEA’s Washington Division, the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division, and the Metropolitan Police Department, the ATF’s Washington Field Division looked into the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Solomon S. Eppel and Matthew W. Kinskey.
Hampton’s conviction highlights the District of Columbia’s continuous efforts to stop the trafficking of weapons and drugs.
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