Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 14, 2022
Career criminal sentenced to 20 years on most recent drug bust
On Friday morning, Rodriquez S. Hampton appeared with his attorney, Joseph Landusky, before Judge Kelly Cottrill, where he agreed to a sentence of more than 20 years for his most recent run-in with the law.
Hampton, 35, was caught on June 2 leaving his home on Locust Avenue on the north end of Zanesville by detectives serving search warrants.
The warrant, authored by the Zanesville / Muskingum County Joint Drug Unit, resulted in the discovery of a figurative supermarket of drugs. Major drug offender quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine were discovered, as were large quantities of several different opiate pills, marijuana and a crack-cocaine manufacturing operation which was in progress, complete with written instructions. All of these activities were taking place within the vicinity of Zanesville Middle School.
Detectives ultimately seized numerous motor vehicles, motorcycles, gaming systems, televisions, cash and other assets, along with the contraband, before heading to Hampton’s second home in White Cottage. That home, along with the previously mentioned items, were forfeited to the State of Ohio as a consequence of the drug trafficking conviction.
Criminal asset forfeiture occurs after a person has been convicted of a crime. The purpose of criminal asset forfeiture is to add an additional punishment for drug dealers, to strip them of the financial and lifestyle proceeds of their crimes and to eliminate their control over real estate in the county.
Hampton will join his father, Rodriguez L. Hampton, at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. The elder Hampton is serving 13 to 16-and-a-half years in prison after being caught with over 2,500 grams of cocaine earlier this year. Judge Cottrill handed Rodriquez S. Hampton a sentence of 20 to 25-and-a-half years Friday morning. The first 20 years of the sentence is mandatory and must be served day for day.
Hampton’s case also demonstrates the nature of violence and narcotics trafficking and the myth of non-violent drug crime. Earlier this year, Hampton was under indictment for a brutal home invasion which left the female victim hospitalized. Thereafter, Hampton was able to use his reputation and drug money to convince the victim to hide out-of-state from the law, resulting in the case being dismissed. He was out on bond on a lower-level drug offense when he committed the acts in this case.
Ultimately, the law caught up with Mr. Hampton, and this sentence – one that Mr. Hampton agreed to, – demonstrates the type of justice for which Muskingum County has a well-deserved and hard-earned reputation.
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