After perjury conviction, gang leader’s associate now facing gun, drug charges
Ladonah Hampton was arrested last month after, police say, she was caught with two loaded handguns and a two-liter bottle containing liquid PCP.
An associate of feared Chicago gang leader Labar “Bro Man” Spann is facing new charges after, police say, she was caught with two loaded handguns and a two-liter bottle containing liquid PCP.
Ladonah Hampton, 28, was arrested last month near 49th and Indiana as part of an investigation by the Chicago Police Department’s Narcotics Division, according to police and court records.
Officers curbed her car and found a laundry bag that contained a 9mm handgun with five rounds, a .40-caliber handgun with 13 rounds and a two-liter Faygo bottle “containing 30 ounces of fluid suspect liquid PCP,” her arrest report states. Hampton also was in possession of four cellphones and an unknown amount of cash.
She was charged with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and possession of a controlled substance. Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Last year, Hampton pleaded guilty to federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges stemming from bogus grand jury testimony she gave in 2015. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail and was ordered to enroll in a three-month drug treatment program.
In January 2015, Hampton was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury about a September 2014 trip she took to Midwest Sporting Goods, a gun shop and shooting range in west suburban Lyons. She went there with Spann, the reputed boss of the Four Corner Hustlers, and another woman, identified only as “Individual A” or “Na-Na.”
Labar “Bro Man” Spann | Chicago Police Department
Hampton had a valid firearm owner’s identification card at the time and rented a 9mm Glock handgun. She also bought three targets, a box of bullets, three safety goggles and three ear protectors. Spann, though, used the gun first.
With a string of felony convictions dating back to 1996, Spann wasn’t lawfully allowed to handle a weapon. While at the firing range, Spann documented their trip on Instagram.
“Yea this the type of s— I do with my bitch so why n—–’s chase p—- I’m chasing loyalty and [money bag emoji],” Spann wrote in a caption for one video.
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Four months later, FBI agents called Hampton to the Dirksen Federal Courthouse downtown to talk about the trip to the gun range. They also served her with a subpoena to testify before a grand jury a few days later.
“Hampton truthfully stated to law enforcement, in summary, that she, Spann, and Individual A went to Midwest Sporting Goods to shoot a gun at the range,” prosecutors said in a court filing. “Hampton truthfully stated to law enforcement that Spann loaded the firearm, fired it, Hampton fired next, and Individual A fired last.”
After her interview, Hampton sent Spann a message through Instagram, saying, “Call me real quick, it’s important.” Hampton then deleted the message.
She returned to the courthouse a few days later. Spann had someone follow her in the building and send him updates on her movements via private messages on Instagram.
“The Instagram user informed Spann that Hampton had sent the Instagram user a text message and that she was ‘not folding,’ meaning Hampton was not going to be truthful with the agents or the Special February 2014 Grand Jury about Spann possessing the gun at Midwest Sporting Goods,” prosecutors wrote.
Hampton then testified that Spann didn’t fire the Glock at the gun range. Spann also asked her to get him a copy of her testimony.
“Her testimony was false,” prosecutors said.
In June 2017, Spann pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and three counts of obstruction of justice.
Three months later, Spann and 10 others were indicted in a sweeping racketeering conspiracy that linked the Four Corner Hustlers to six murders between 2000 and 2003, including that of Latin Kings boss Rudy “Kato” Rangel Jr.
According to federal authorities, from the mid-1990s until the September 2017 indictment, the Four Corner Hustlers operated in West Garfield Park and Humboldt Park on the West Side and in the former LeClaire Courts public housing development on the Southwest Side, dealing drugs, robbing rivals, and using violence and intimidation to keep victims and witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement.
Eight of the 11 defendants are set to go to trial this September. Spann and two others — who could face the death penalty if convicted — are scheduled to go to trial in September 2020.