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NC coast fentanyl dealer gets 15 years after wild 120+ mph chase, fiery crash with 2 kids in car, officials say

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Officials said Monday that a North Carolina man was sentenced in a fentanyl operation that continued even after his arrest in a 120 mph car chase with two children that led to a fiery crash.

*Daquan Wainwright along with some of the illegal items found in the home he shared with co-defendant London Kebe, deputies say. Onslow County Sheriff’s Office photos*

Daquan Wainwright, 26, of Onslow County was eventually busted on drug charges when deputies responded to his home for a domestic dispute, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Even after his eventual arrest, Wainwright ordered others to collect the drug debts owed to him and give the money to his mother, officials said.

Wainwright was first busted in March 2022 and authorities ended his fentanyl trafficking six months later — thanks to a search of a house in which the woman he lived lied about children being home, officials said.

Fentanyl was found in a pitcher (top left) during a search of Wainwright’s home, located about 7 miles from the beaches of Onslow County, deputies said. Onslow County Sheriff’s Office photo

Wainwright, with London Kebe, as a co-defendant, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl while armed with firearms, a Monday U.S. Attorney’s Office news release said.

A 2021 Audi luxury car was seized during his eventual arrest, deputies said.

Officials first began looking into Wainwright after police and deputies received around 15 complaints about him selling drugs in Onslow County, the news release said.

On March 1, 2022, Wainwright — with two children in his car — led cops on a 120 mph chase before crashing into a ditch. The car erupted in flames, but no one was injured, officials said.

Some of the 40 pounds of marijuana found in a search of Wainwright and London Kebe’s home, deputies said. Onslow County Sheriff’s Office photo

But from the charred car wreckage deputies found 681 grams of marijuana in the car, officials said.

After that, an investigation into Wainwright’s criminal activities continued with a sting buy of two ounces of fentanyl from Wainwright, officials said.

But, Wainwright’s criminal enterprise only came to an end with a lie about children during a domestic dispute on Sept. 29, 2022, the news release said.

After being called about the domestic matter, deputies arrived at the Eider Loop Road home of Kebe and Wainwright. Kebe opened the door, and deputies immediately smelled the odor of marijuana in the house, located south of Jacksonville, officials said.

Deputies tried to take Kebe into custody on an active warrant but she claimed there were children in the home. Authorities searched the house but found no children.

However, officials said they did find:

2+ kilograms of fentanyl
40 pounds of marijuana
drug paraphernalia
a loaded Highpoint handgun
a loaded AR-15 rifle
a stolen 9mm handgun
a rifle with an obliterated serial number
another 9mm loaded handgun
several rounds of ammunition
nearly $15,000 in cash

As deputies were at the house, Wainwright drove by the home several times and was eventually arrested there.

He tried to destroy his phone as he was being handcuffed but officials said they were able to locate pictures and other evidence in the phone of drug trafficking and firearm possession.

“After he was in custody, Wainwright continued to direct others to collect debts owed to him for drugs and provide the payment to his mother,” the news release said.

The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Police Department, and the DEA investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan oversaw the guilty plea agreement.

Fentanyl Fatality Victim Summit ROBESON County, Pembroke NC

When	Saturday, September 21, 2024, 10:30am – 3:30pm. Doors open 10 AM
Where	Bear Swamp Baptist Church, 1948 St. Anna Road, Pembroke, NC
Who	Guest Speakers: Senator Britt, Representative Lowery, District Attorney Scott, Sheriff Wilkins & 40+ NC Fentanyl Victim Families available for on-site interviews

***Private Event. Must pre-register. Press permitted with credentials. Free On-Site Lunch Provided***

Contacts

Host:	Barb Walsh, Executive Director, 919-614-3830, barb@fentvic.org Fentanyl Victims Network of NC (fentvic.org), 501(c)(3) EIN 88-3921380 www.fentvic.org
Regional Co-Host:	Leslie Locklear, President, Fight4Me Foundation, 910-733-9788, info@fight4mefoundation.org 501(c)(3) EIN: 92-2765832 www.fight4mefoundation.org

Click here or scan QR code to register.

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Man arrested for selling drugs linked to 2023 overdose in Carrboro

Read the original article on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Jerimiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma, is charged with death by distribution and selling a Schedule II controlled substance.

Carrboro police arrested a man Wednesday and charged him in connection with another man’s overdose death.

Jerimiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma, is charged with death by distribution and selling a Schedule II controlled substance.

Carrboro police said Hargrove sold a controlled substance to Serguei Ndinga Momo, who died of an overdose on June 27, 2023, at the age of 21.

Police said the substance was the cause of Momo’s death.

Authorities are holding Hargrove at the Wayne County Jail on an $80,000 bond.

Police urged people to call 911 if someone is overdosing.

North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law allows for people to report an overdose – their own or someone else’s – without fear of criminal prosecution.

‘Secret fentanyl lab’ found in Fayetteville home sends armed trafficker to prison

Read the original article on the CBS 17 News website.

A high-capacity pill press sits on a washing machine in a Fayetteville home. (Courtesy USDOJ)

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — What began as a Fayetteville police investigation ended in federal charges, a 27-year prison sentence, and more than six pounds of fentanyl taken out of circulation.

Quavion Maurice Pickett, 30, became the focus of an investigation after a “confidential informant” tipped off Fayetteville police in April 2022 to his role involvement in distributing drugs, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. on Wednesday.

Pickett, a.k.a. “Q,” is a resident of Rock Hill, S.C., and has a residence in Fayetteville where police began surveilling after the tip. After observing what appeared to be multiple drug transactions, a search warrant was issued.

While in the home, officers discovered the laundry room was being used as a “secret fentanyl lab”, the USDOJ release said. The makeshift lab was described as being used as a counterfeit pill-making operation. The fentanyl pills seized were pressed with markings of “A215”, which was to give the appearance of being 30-milligram doses of oxycodone hydrochloride, Easley said.

Wake County to take fight against opioid addiction and overdoses to the streets

Read the original article on the News & Observer website (may be behind a pay wall).

Wake County will work with 13 community organizations specializing in naloxone distribution, recovery support, housing services and more to combat the effects of the opioid epidemic. Durham County Sheriff’s Dept.

Lindsey Humphreys has been recovering from opioid addiction for the last five years, she said.

She’s known people in Wake County who have died from opioids because they didn’t have access to naloxone, a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdose.

“I decided to be part of the solution and just started to distribute this,” she said. “I have been doing it for the last couple of years in the memory of some of my friends who passed.”

Humphreys is the executive director of Illuminate NC, an organization that helps distribute naloxone in Wake and Vance counties. Illuminate distributes about 300 naloxone units a month, she said.

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Raleigh mother and unborn child’s suspected fentanyl deaths a dark reminder of drug’s pull

Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Newly-released warrants reveal a Raleigh mother and her unborn baby were among the latest overdose cases as they each died from fentanyl overdoses. The latest data serves as a warning for parents.

Seventeen North Carolinians die from an overdose each day.

It’s part of a troubling trend in our state.

Newly released warrants reveal a Raleigh mother and her unborn baby were among the latest cases as they each died from fentanyl overdoses. The latest data serves as a warning for parents.

Barbara Walsh knows the danger of fentanyl, a toxic poison her daughter died from unintentionally in August of 2021.

“Basically, you have a murder with no weapon,” Walsh said. “Fentanyl puts someone to sleep like a dog.”

Sophia drank what she thought was water in a bottle – except it was laced.

“This young woman was 24 years old, Apex High School grad, Appalachian State grad, professionally employed,” said Walsh.

A new search warrant issued by Raleigh police describes a recent suspected fentanyl death of a mother and her unborn child. It happened at an apartment in southeast Raleigh.

Police responded to a woman in cardiac arrest on Aug. 14.

A man inside the apartment told police that she took fentanyl and that he last saw her watching a movie on her phone about an hour earlier before finding her unresponsive.

Wake County EMS administered Narcan, a drug that reverses the symptoms of an opioid overdose.

But the mother and her unborn baby died.

“We are seeing about 3,600 per year die, every year it’s getting larger until this year,” Walsh said.

According to the office of the state medical examiner, there were 193 fentanyl positive deaths in May alone in North Carolina.

Despite that, yearly data is showing a downward trend. There were 3,354 fentanyl deaths in 2022, 3,341 in 2023 and 1,008 so far in 2024.

With this week being International Overdose Awareness Week, she’s hopeful parents can continue to educate their children about the dangers of fentanyl – an odorless, tasteless drug.

“Right now, 7 out of 10 pills not from a pharmacist contain fentanyl,” Walsh said. “Most people don’t know it’s in their pill, a vape or a drink.”

Two Narcan vending machines in Durham used to combat drug overdoses

Durham has installed two Narcan vending machines as part of a broader effort to make treatment for drug overdoses more accessible.

Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Durham has installed two Narcan vending machines as part of a broader effort to make treatment for drug overdoses more accessible.

Two Narcan vending machines are now available to the public in Durham at:

Durham County Department of Public Health, 414 E. Main St.
Durham County Detention Center, 219 S. Mangum St.

Federal health leaders visited Durham on Wednesday to discuss the importance of making Naloxone, an over-the-counter drug sold under the name Narcan, more readily available. Among the visitors were Dr. Rahul Gupta, who oversees the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Narcan is a lifesaving drug that can help reverse overdoses. During Wednesday’s visit to the detention center, Gupta said free access to the treatment is a game changer.

“Every time this happens, it’s a leading effort for the country as an example for the nation, for the state to do that.,” Gupta said. “Are there enough across the country? No. This why I’m here today … to exemplify the leading efforts right here in Durham County.”

Gupta said overdoses in North Carolina have declined in recent years, citing a 14% decrease in overdoses in the state compared to a 5% national decrease.

The vending machine at the detention center will be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while the vending machine at the Department of Public Health will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

People at risk for opioid overdose, including those struggling with opioid use disorder or taking high doses of opioid medications, are recommended to carry Narcan.

Durham County Department of Public Health, 414 E. Main St.

Durham County Detention Center, 219 S. Mangum St.

Fentanyl deaths rising among NC children

Read the original article on the WUNC website. This article originally appeared on the NC Health News website.

LEXINGTON — On a recent Saturday, family members gathered in a circle at a church here to share stories of loved ones lost to fentanyl.

“Our whole world is turned upside down,” said Michelle, a Forsyth County mother who lost her 19-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning. She didn’t want to use her full name for this story or go into details about his death, as authorities are still investigating.

She doesn’t think her son knew he had taken fentanyl, which has become more common as drug dealers add it to everything from heroin to fake prescription medications.

Just a few grains of the highly potent opioid — about 2 milligrams, an amount that’s barely enough to cover the date on a penny — can be fatal. In 2021, fentanyl was involved in 83 percent of fatal medication or drug overdoses in the state, according to N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

“If this can happen to him, this can happen to anybody,” said Michelle, who has made it her mission to help educate other parents about the dangers of fentanyl.

She’s not alone in her fight.

Barbara Walsh, whose Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina organized the recent Lexington meeting, is pushing for North Carolina to require that the opioid reversal drug naloxone be available in all schools. Her 24-year-old daughter died from fentanyl poisoning in 2021 after unknowingly drinking a bottle of water laced with the drug.

“Large-scale” fentanyl dealer arrested after two-month undercover drug investigation in Selma, Johnston County deputies say

Read the original article and watch the video on the CBS17 website.

SELMA, N.C. (WNCN) — Agents with the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office narcotics division and STAR team put a huge drug case behind them this week.

According to deputies, numerous agents pulled up to 720 Campground Road Wednesday to execute a search warrant at the home. Inside were two adults and one child, including the subject of the investigation, 29-year-old Rashid Campbell. No one else in the residence were criminally charged.

Deputies say approximately 6,000 fentanyl pills were seized during the arrest, with a street value of $125,000. More pills were seized in numerous purchases in their two-month undercover investigation.

Additionally, deputies say they located three firearms, cash, and a money counting machine inside the home.

Campbell, who is a convicted felon, was arrested for numerous firearm and drug charges. They include multiple counts of trafficking in opium or heroin as well as possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver.

Campbell appeared in court Friday for the charges, where his bond was set by the clerk for $2.5 million.

A new law bans ‘gas station heroin’ in NC. Why is it still on shelves?

Read the original article and watch the video on WRAL.com.

Health officials and lawmakers have warned consumers about the opioid-like effects of tianeptine. But stores are technically still allowed to continue the sale of the drug — for now.
Gov. Roy Cooper this month signed into law a bill banning the substance known as “gas station heroin.” But the drug is still sitting on shelves around the region.

That’s because North Carolina’s law doesn’t go into effect until Dec. 1. In the meantime, stores are technically still allowed to continue the sale of tianeptine.

Health officials and lawmakers have warned consumers about the opioid-like effects of tianeptine, which, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has been tied to serious health risks and deaths across the country.

In 2020, there were 151 poison control center cases involving tianeptine, according to the FDA. That’s up from just 11 total from 2000 to 2013.

Concern over the drug led to a rare bipartisan effort to ban the product in North Carolina. Lawmakers in June overwhelmingly voted to approve the removal of tianeptine from store shelves. Cooper signed the bill this month, joining at least nine other states — including border states Tennessee and Georgia — that have passed similar bans.