Man convicted of child endangerment, illegally possessing weapon sentenced to prison

Court records show a man who was charged in connection to the shooting of a 2-year-old in Minneapolis earlier this year will serve time in prison.

The sentencing hearing for 37-year-old Kendall Hampton was held at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

As previously reported, Hampton entered guilty pleas to charges of child endangerment by firearm access and illegally possessing a firearm in July.

RELATED: Man charged in shooting of 2-year-old in Minneapolis

Tuesday, a judge sentenced Hampton to 60 months in prison (five years) for the illegal firearm possession charge and 48 months (four years) for the child endangerment charge. Hampton’s sentences will be served concurrently, and the judge allowed him to receive credit for the nine days he has already served.

A criminal complaint states Minneapolis police responded to the 1500 block of Lasalle Avenue on March 14 after a 911 caller said a 2-year-old was bleeding from his face.

When police arrived, the caller told police she was sleeping in the same room as the 2-year-old when she awoke to him screaming and saw him bleeding significantly from his face. The complaint says Hampton was also in the room at that time and met police in the lobby of the building, saying he was a neighbor and came down to see what happened.

After officers told Hampton to wait so they could get a statement from him, he left and refused to come back when he was called, the complaint states.

The boy was taken to a hospital where it was learned that he’d been shot in the left cheek. The boy was in critical condition but stabilized over time, authorities said.

Eventually, Hampton was arrested and then admitted that he was in the room where the boy was shot.

According to the complaint, he also said he’d been drinking and left his gun on the windowsill next to his bed. The woman said she told Hampton to put his gun up higher where children couldn’t get it but he wanted to keep it close. Hampton added that he was asleep and didn’t know how the child was injured but he left when police showed up because he’s not supposed to have a gun, due to a prior conviction.