SB429 was updated on July 10, 2025.
See SB429 and more relevant NC laws on the North Carolina State Laws resource page.
NC Senate Updates SB429 Public Safety Act
Category: Breaking News
ENC law enforcement trains in Morehead City on death by distribution cases
Read the original article and watch the video on the WCTI News 12 website.
Law enforcement officials from across eastern North Carolina gathered in Morehead City to enhance their understanding of death by distribution cases. Carteret County officials emphasized the importance of this training.
Officers, detectives, and deputies from Carteret and Craven counties convened at the Morehead City Police Department to stay informed on trends and strategies for handling these cases. Sheriff Asa Buck highlighted the local efforts to strengthen their approach since the introduction of the new law in 2019.
“For the past couple of years one of my detectives, Corey Bishop, and Assistant District Attorney David Spence have been putting on this training session — not just here in our county, but across the state in various trainings, homicide investigator events, and other conferences as well,” said Sheriff Buck.
Since 2020, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office has charged 30 individuals under the death by distribution law, leading the state in such prosecutions. Sheriff Buck and Assistant District Attorney David Spence were present to lead the training and discuss the significance of these cases.
MCPD Charges Man Following Overdose Death Investigation
Read the original article on the Morehead City website.
News Release
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Bryan Gabriel Mace, of Newport, was charged by the Morehead City Police Department on Thursday, April 3, 2025, with the following offenses: Death by Distribution (Unlawful delivery), Possession with the Intent to Sell and Deliver a Scheduled II controlled substance, and Delivery of a Scheduled II controlled substance.
This followed an extensive investigation by the Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit, which was launched after the tragic overdose death of Kaitlyn Curry, a Morehead City resident, in July of 2024. Mace, who was already in custody for related drug charges and probation violations, was subsequently held in the Carteret County Detention Center after his first appearance, where he was given a $750,000 secured bond.
Man arrested after 39-year-old dies from overdose in Union County, police say
Read the original article and watch the video on the WBTV3 website.
MONROE, N.C. (WBTV) – A man was arrested after a 39-year-old died from an overdose in Union County in March, according to police.
Records showed 52-year-old Fredrick Bivens was charged with death by distribution on Saturday, June 28, and given a $1 million bond.
What happened
On March 4, police said they responded to calls for an unresponsive person at a home along Broome Street in Monroe.
Upon arrival, officers said they found Jerry Deese suffering from a medical emergency, and “despite rapid intervention and lifesaving efforts,” he was pronounced dead.
His death was later determined to be the result of a drug overdose, according to police.
Investigation leads to Bivens’ arrest
After an “extensive investigation,” officers said they identified Bivens as being responsible for supplying the drugs that led to Deese’s death.
Authorities advised that shortly after identifying Bivens as a suspect, he was apprehended and placed in the Union County Detention Center.
“Let this case serve as a clear message: if you distribute deadly drugs in our community, you will be held accountable,” said Chief Rhett Bolen. “My department remains fully committed to aggressively pursuing those who profit from narcotics and ensuring they face the consequences of their actions.”
Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office Press Release
Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Press Release
Sheriff Buck Announces Arrest of Down East Drug Trafficker
Carteret County leads state in death by distribution charges
Read the original article watch the video WNCT TV9 website.
CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) — Carteret County has the most charges of death by distribution in the state from 2013 to June 2024, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.
The law allows officials to prosecute individuals who sell or give drugs to someone that leads to an overdose death. Carteret County has had 171 fentanyl-related deaths since 2013, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.
Barb Walsh founded The Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina after fentanyl killed her daughter in 2021. She now collects data and information from government agencies about fentanyl deaths so people can know what is happening in their counties.
“My 24-year-old daughter was killed by fentanyl in a water bottle. August 16th, 2021,” Walsh said. “She was smart. She was successful and professional. She had just gotten a promotion. She lived in Charlotte, 24 years old, and she should still be alive.”
Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck III said tackling the fentanyl crisis is a priority for his office. He said the death by distribution law has become a strong tool.
“Put yourself in the shoes of a grieving mother or father, many of whom I’ve talked with right here sitting in this office, then come back to me and tell me what you think about the death by distribution law,” Sheriff Buck said. “It’s easy for people to say how they would feel, but when it comes home to them, it’s a completely different story.”
Learn more about the Fentanyl Victims Network here.
New Report: U.S. drug overdose deaths rise again after hopeful decline
Read the original article on the NPR website.
For the first time in more than a year, street drug deaths appear to be rising across the U.S. according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest available data, compiled in January of this year, shows fatal overdoses over the previous 12-month period increased by roughly 1,400 deaths.
“This slight increase reflects historic data and suggests that the U.S. saw more overdose deaths in January 2025 than it did in January 2024,” the CDC said in a statement sent to NPR. “We are working on analyses to better understand geographic trends.”
The CDC data suggests roughly 82,138 deaths during the 12-month period ending in January 2025. That would be a significant increase from the December 2024 report, but it’s still far below the overdose crisis peak of 114,664 recorded in August 2023.
Still, after seventeen months of declines in fatal overdoses that stunned drug policy experts and an unprecedented 27 percent drop in drug deaths in 2024, some addiction researchers described this report as troubling.
Keith Humphreys, a researcher at Stanford University, said the new CDC data could be an early warning that drug death declines brought on by a number of factors, including the end of COVID pandemic disruptions and weaker fentanyl being sold on U.S. streets, could be fading.
“If we assume it’s not a blip, this makes it more likely that the sudden drop [in fatal overdoses] was a one-off event rather than a fundamental change in epidemic dynamics,” Humphreys said in an email.
Most overdose deaths in the U.S. are caused by fentanyl, but researchers who sample the street drug supply have warned of an increasingly dangerous mix of chemicals being sold by dealers, including cocaine and methamphetamines, as well veterinary tranquilizers such as medetomidine and xylazine.
“Overdose trends are not a one-way street, and there will be periodic local increases,” said Nabarun Dasgupta, who studies overdose trends at the University of North Carolina.
His analysis of the latest CDC data suggested “most of the country is still trending down in the right direction.”
According to Dasgupta, the “increase in predicted national numbers are driven primarily by upticks in Texas, Arizona, California and Washington.”
Continue reading “New Report: U.S. drug overdose deaths rise again after hopeful decline”Man charged with supplying deadly dose of fentanyl
Read the original article on the Sampson Independent website.
A fentanyl overdose that killed a Clinton woman earlier this year has led to the arrest of a 32-year-old man who authorities believe supplied the drug that took her life.
Christopher Trevon Graham, of Clinton, was taken into custody late Tuesday and charged with multiple felonies related to the woman’s death. The arrest, noted Sheriff’s Capt. Marcus Smith, came on the heels of a months-long county probe into the overdose and a review of the charges Friday by the District Attorney’s Office, which gave the go-ahead to make the arrest.
Graham was arrested on outstanding warrants for two counts death by distribution of certain controlled substances and possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute a Schedule II controlled substance.
The probe, Smith said, began in March 2025 in partnership with the FBI after the Clinton woman died from an apparent fentanyl overdose.
Evidence gathered during that investigation, the captain said, identified Graham as the supplier of the fatal dose.
Graham was located Tuesday in a vehicle on Bonnetsville Road and taken into custody without incident.
He has a prior record that includes multiple felony conviction related to firearms and narcotics trafficking.
Graham is currently being held without bond in the Sampson County Detention Center and is expected to make a first appearance on those charges later this week.
“This arrest underscores our agency’s continued commitment to identify and prosecute those responsible for distributing dangerous drugs in our community,” noted Sheriff Jimmy Thornton in a prepared statement. “We will not stop pursuing individuals who profit from poisoning our citizens.”
Information from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner notes that over 1,900 overdose deaths in 2024 were attributed to use of fentanyl.
Statewide, the information noted, communities continue to face rising threats from unregulated and deadly mixtures of illicit substances.
The Death by Distribution Law, enacted in 2019 and revised in 2023, allows law enforcement officers and prosecutors to hold drug suppliers accountable for overdose deaths.
The charge against Graham is classified as a Class B1 to Class C felony in North Carolina punishable by a potential prison sentence of 10 to 30 years.
“The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to working with state and federal partners to aggressively combat drug trafficking and safeguard the health and safety of its residents,” attested Smith.