PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Philadelphia man was sentenced Tuesday, October 27, to 15 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses after a jury convicted him of distributing marijuana while illegally possessing a gun, federal prosecutors announced.
Deon Hanton, 35, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Kai N. Scott, who also ordered five years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
Hanton was convicted in June 2026 on three federal charges: possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, evidence presented at trial established that Hanton resumed drug trafficking after serving prison sentences for previous state convictions involving drugs and other offenses.
Federal prosecutors stated that Hanton was still on state parole when he began trafficking significant quantities of marijuana and possessed a firearm despite being legally prohibited from doing so because of his prior felony conviction.
A federal grand jury indicted Hanton in December 2024. He subsequently proceeded to trial, where jurors found him guilty on all counts.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Philadelphia Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Branwen McNabb O’Donnell and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Zabel prosecuted the case.
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