Ex-Miss Kentucky USA indicted for drug smuggling

A Kentucky woman LIMA — has gone from wearing a beauty queen crown to wearing Allen County Jail stripes.

Miss Kentucky USA 2011, Kia B. Hampton, 28, of Louisville, Kentucky, was indicted this month by an Allen County grand jury on one count of illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility, a felony of the third degree.

Hampton was caught while attempting to smuggle 2.82 grams of marijuana into the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution on May, 26, said Allen County Assistant Prosecutor Kenneth Sturgill.

According to an affidavit of Trooper David J. Schultz of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Hampton was suspected of smuggling drugs into the prison when visiting inmate Jeremy Kelly, who is serving four years in prison on two drug trafficking charges out of Wood County. Probable cause to obtain a strip and body cavity search warrant was developed while listening to recorded phone calls, the affidavit stated.

According to the affidavit, when Hampton arrived at the institution on May 26, Schultz served her with a warrant and read her Miranda rights. She pushed a white balloon containing what was later identified as marijuana, down her pants leg while she was talking with the police.

No other illegal substances were found when Hampton was strip searched by female officers and she waived her right to counsel, the affidavit stated.

Hampton voluntarily turned over the drugs and was forthcoming after being caught, Sturgill said. She is facing a maximum sentence of three years for her alleged attempt to smuggle drugs into Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution, he said.