TRENTON, N.J. – Two Trenton men have been sentenced to
prison for their roles in a violent drug trafficking conspiracy that allegedly
distributed more than one kilogram of heroin in Trenton and the surrounding
area, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Kahlil Hampton, a/k/a “Ruger,” 29, was sentenced today to
176 months in prison and five years of supervised release after previously
pleading guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an
information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess
with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. Judge Wolfson imposed
the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
Donte Ellis, a/k/a “Shalant,” 42, was sentenced Nov. 15,
2019, to 181 months in prison and five years of supervised release after
previously pleading guilty before Judge Wolfson to an information charging him
with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams
or more of heroin. Ellis also admitted to possessing a firearm during the
offense.
According to documents filed in this case and statements
made in court:
In October 2018, Ellis, Hampton, and 24 other members of a
drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Trenton were charged by criminal
complaint with conspiracy to distribute heroin. On Aug. 8, 2019, a grand jury
returned a 15-count second superseding indictment charging nine of those
defendants – Omar Council, a/k/a “Stacks,” a/k/a “O,” a/k/a “Y-O,” a/k/a
“Snow,” Jerome Roberts, a/k/a “Righteous,” a/k/a “Lee;” David Antonio, a/k/a
“Papi,” a/k/a “Pop,” a/k/a “Victor Arias,” a/k/a “Santiago Ramirez;” Brian
Phelps, a/k/a “B-Money,” a/k/a “B;” Timothy Wimbush, a/k/a “Young Money;”
Taquan Williams, a/k/a “Trip;” Jubri West; Dennis Cheston Jr., a/k/a “Beans;”
and Wayne K. Bush – with various crimes relating to the drug-trafficking
conspiracy, including firearms charges against Phelps, Wimbush, Williams, West,
and Cheston. To date, 20 defendants have pleaded guilty in connection with
their participation in the conspiracy.
From as early as October 2017 to October 2018, the
defendants and others engaged in a narcotics conspiracy that operated in the
areas of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Sanford Street, Middle Rose Street,
Southard Street, Hoffman Avenue, and Coolidge Avenue in Trenton, and which
sought to profit from the distribution of heroin and numerous other controlled
substances. Through the interception of telephone calls and text messages
pursuant to court-authorized wiretap orders, controlled purchases of heroin,
the use of confidential sources of information, and other investigative
techniques, law enforcement learned that in September and October 2018,
Ellis—who had been released from state prison in August 2018 for two prior
convictions for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder—obtained large
quantities of heroin on multiple occasions from codefendant Jakir Taylor, which
he redistributed to others in and around Trenton. The investigation also
revealed that, on several occasions when Ellis obtained supplies of heroin from
Taylor, he also obtained a firearm from Taylor for protection in redistributing
the narcotics. Hampton was a close associate of Taylor, and he regularly
obtained and redistributed large quantities of heroin in furtherance of the
conspiracy. The investigation also revealed that Hampton had access to one or
more firearms.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI,
Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent
in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent
in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, ATF Trenton Field Office; officers of the
Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Sheilah Coley;
officers of the Princeton Police Department, under the direction of Chief of
Police Nicholas Sutter; officers of the Ewing Police Department, under the
direction of Chief of Police John P. Stemler III; officers of the Burlington
Township Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Bruce
Painter; and detectives of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the
direction of Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina, with the investigation leading to
today’s charges. He also thanked officers of the New Jersey State Police, under
the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan; detectives of the
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo
Onofri; officers of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of
Sheriff John A. Kemler; and members of the New Jersey State Board of Parole for
their assistance in the case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J.
Brendan Day and Alexander Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division
in Trenton.
This case was conducted by the Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Greater Trenton Safe Streets Task
Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies
to enhance the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals
involved in gang-related activities, violent crime, and drug distribution in
and around the greater Trenton area. The principal mission of the OCDETF
program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug
trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations and those
primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
The charges and allegations against the remaining defendants
are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty.
Defense counsel:
Hampton: Stanley O. King Esq., Woodbury, New Jersey
Ellis: Jose Luis Ongay Esq., Camden, New Jersey
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