WASHINGTON — Kenneth Josiah Hampton, 26, of Washington, D.C., has been found guilty of drug trafficking and firearms offenses following a six-day jury trial in U.S. District Court, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Hampton, who also goes by his rap alias “Carti Ears,” was convicted of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and oxycodone, along with related firearms charges. Evidence presented at trial revealed that Hampton used social media to sell drugs, branding himself as “The Neighborhood Pharmacist” and posting advertisements for opioids alongside photos of cash, firearms, and marijuana.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) executed a search warrant at Hampton’s residence in October 2022, recovering three firearms, several pounds of marijuana, prescription and fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills, promethazine, and thousands of dollars in cash. Hampton shared the residence with co-conspirator Myles Allen, who previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2023.
Hampton now faces significant penalties, including up to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking charges and a mandatory minimum of five years, with a maximum of life imprisonment, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta.
The case was investigated by the ATF’s Washington Field Division, with assistance from the DEA’s Washington Division, the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division, and the Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey and Solomon S. Eppel prosecuted the case.
Hampton’s conviction underscores ongoing efforts to disrupt drug and firearms trafficking in the District of Columbia.