St. Louis, MO - William Hampton, 21, of St. Louis, was sentenced to 48 months in prison today for illegally possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance. He appeared in federal court today before U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel. Hampton’s sentence was ordered to run consecutive to any sentence imposed in Hampton’s pending State case, Cause Number1822-CR1904, Circuit Court, City of St. Louis.
According to court documents and information at sentencing, on June 19, 2016, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers located Hampton asleep in the driver’s seat of a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was parked in the middle of the street. The engine was running. Hampton had a nine millimeter firearm on his lap. Hampton was also in the possession of controlled substances. Hampton was arrested and later charged federally with one count of being a user of controlled substances in the possession of a firearm.
At the time of his arrest in connection with the federal indictment, Hampton attempted to escape arresting officers by driving his vehicle at a dangerously high rate of speed on City of St. Louis streets and the highway. Hampton violated stop signs and traffic signals. Hampton eventually lost control of his vehicle and ran. Officers chased Hampton on foot and ultimately took him into custody. The officers searched Hampton’s vehicle and recovered a stolen, loaded.40 caliber handgun.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department as part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s sustained effort to combat violent crime within the City of St. Louis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
