Wilmington ‘ghost gun’ gang member sentenced to 11+ years for trafficking meth

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – Shamar Keaton, also known as “Sleeze” and “Sleeze Ru Gambino,” of Wilmington, was sentenced to 135 months, or 11.25 years, in prison for drug trafficking.

Shamar “Sleeze” Keaton, is 32 years old.

According to law enforcement, Keaton was a member of the United Blood Nation in Wilmington.

According to court documents, evidence presented in court, and other documents, on December 15th of 2021, an individual working at the direction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) purchased more than 20 grams of methamphetamine from Keaton.

Keaton was wearing an ankle monitor that he had been ordered to wear by the NC State Court system.

Keaton had a prior state conviction for possession of a stolen firearm.

On March 5th, 2022, the same individual made another controlled purchase, this time for approximately two ounces of pure methamphetamine.

During the deal, Keaton said that he had a 9mm “ghost gun”, which is a term for a privately manufactured firearm without serial numbers or other identifying marks that cannot be traced by law enforcement.

Keaton said that he had a “source” for ghost guns.

Keaton explained that it would cost $600 to get all the parts and then his source charges $200 to assemble the gun.

Keaton was arrested by ATF on March 16th, 2022.

This is part of “Operation Golfer,” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.

According to the Department of Justice, OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.