Woman dies from fentanyl in N.C., man charged

Read the original article on the 10OnYourSide WAVY website.

PASQUOTANK, N.C. (WAVY) โ€” A man in North Carolina was charged in the death of a woman after she died from fentanyl ingestion.

On July 2, 2024, around 4 p.m., deputies with the Pasquotank County Sheriffโ€™s Office and EMS responded to the 700 block of Egan Lane in Elizabeth City. Crews arrived and attempted life-saving measures on an unconscious and unresponsive woman, but were unsuccessful.

29-year-old Jessica Modlin was pronounced dead at the scene. It was determined that fentanyl was the cause of death.

On Jan. 30, 2025, investigators with the Pasquotank County Sheriffโ€™s Office arrested and charged Dontae Williams with death by distribution.

Dontae Williams is currently in the custody of Albemarle District Jail under a $1 million secure bond.

Macon County man charged with death by distribution

Read the original article on the WLOS ABC13 News website.

MACON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) โ€” A Macon County man has been charged in an overdose death of another man.

The Macon County Sheriffโ€™s Office posted on social media on Feb. 5 that Tanner Gerber was indicted for the overdose death of Daniel Stanfield and formally charged with death by distribution.

This charge is designed to hold drug dealers accountable for fatal overdoses, the sheriff’s office said in its Facebook post. It said the charge was also part of “ongoing efforts to combat the drug epidemic affecting the community.”

The sheriff’s office said in its post that District Attorney Ashley Welch played a key role in drafting the legislation that established death by distribution as a prosecutable offense.

“This law provides law enforcement with a critical tool to pursue those who distribute deadly narcotics, reinforcing the message that drug-related deaths will not go unanswered,” the sheriff’s office said.

โ€œThe tragic death of Daniel Stanfield is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of illegal drugs in our community,” Macon County Sheriff Brent Holbrooks said in the post. “This indictment sends a clear message to those who distribute lethal substances will be held accountable. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect our citizens and seek justice for victims and their families.โ€

TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT FENTANYL

Wilson County & Adjacent NC Counties

TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT FENTANYLย  (open to the public)
Wilson County & Adjacent NC Counties
Saturday, February 1, 2025, 2:00-4:00 pm

DateSaturday, February 1, 2025, 2:00-4:00 pm
LocationFoundation YMCA of Wilson
233 Nash Street
Wilson NC. 27893
Contacts
  • Barb Walsh, Executive Director, 919-614-3830
    barb@fentvic.org. website:  www.fentvic.org
    Fentanyl Victims Network of NC (fentvic.org), 501(c)(3) EIN 88-3921380 
  • Local Co-Host:ย ย Lisa Bennett, Mother of Mason Bennett, Forever 22. Valued member of fentvc.org. Public safety, education & justice advocate.ย ย 229-873-5648ย ย lisawbennett@me.com
Purpose
  1. SAVE LIVES! Public Safety Education Prevention Tools + Naloxone Distribution & Training
  2. Listen-Learn-Interview devastated fentanyl victim families. It could happen to anyone!
  3. Spark public safety conversations about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly counterfeit pressed pills (Adderall, Xanax, Percocet),ย and access to life-saving naloxone in schools and the community
  4. Connect NC Fentanyl Victim Families to one another for support and advocacy.

Greenville woman charged in 2023 overdose death of man found in vehicle

A Greenville woman has been arrested and charged in Craven County related to the overdose death of a Rocky Run Road man in Dec. 2023.

Amy Sue Gunter, 47, was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 9 after an investigation by the Craven County Sheriff’s Office.

In late December 2023 a man was found deceased in his vehicle at a Rocky Run Road residence. The death appeared to be the result of an overdose, and the North Carolina State Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed the death was from a fentanyl overdose.

Officials say that an investigation revealed the victim had purchased narcotics from Gunter prior to his death.

Gunter has been charged with the following:

  • Felony Sell and Deliver Schedule II Controlled Substance
  • Possession with Intent to Manufacture, Sell, and Deliver Schedule II Controlled Substance

Gunter was being held at the Craven County Detention Center on a $100,000 secured bond as of Jan. 9.

Wilmington man arrested in deadly Raleigh overdose, warrant shows

Read the original article on the WNCN CBS 17 website.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) โ€” A Wilmington man was arrested Monday in connection with a deadly overdose in Raleigh earlier this month, a warrant shows.

According to the warrant issued by the Raleigh Police Department, 23-year-old Martin Lawrence Mulkins Jr. sold fentanyl and cocaine to Jeffrey Warren on Jan. 5, which led to Warrenโ€™s death.

Mulkins is charged with death by distribution/sale, a felony offense, according to the warrant.

Court records show Mulkins received a $5,000 secured bond. He is scheduled to appear in Wake County Court on Tuesday.

Town hall meeting to educate public on dangers of fentanyl

A man holds a poster showing Wilson County residents who have died as a result of fentanyl. Families shared their stories outside the Wilson County Courthouse in September to bring awareness to the dangers of the drug. Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina will hold a town hall meeting in Wilson on Feb. 1 at the Foundation YMCA of Wilson.ย Drew C. Wilson | Times file photo

Event organizers are sounding the alarm on the fentanyl crisis that continues to claim lives. The Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina will hold a town hall meeting in Wilson from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1, at Foundation YMCA of Wilson at 233 Nash St.ย 

The purpose of the event, organizers say, is to spark public safety conversations about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly when itโ€™s found in counterfeit pressed pills like Adderall, Xanax and Percocet. 

Organizers will also be distributing naloxone, which goes by the brand name Narcan, and train those attending on how to administer the lifesaving antidote. Local families will also share their heart-wrenching stories of how their loved ones have died from fentanyl poisonings. The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. 

ADDRESSING THE ISSUE

Barb Walsh, founder of Fentanyl Victims Network, has been working with Wilson families who are reeling from the loss of their own children who have died as a result of unintentional fentanyl deaths. The hope, she said, is to bring awareness to a problem that is plaguing the country, the state and Wilson. 

โ€œThis is a public safety problem we want to address,โ€ Walsh said. 

Walsh is holding several town halls throughout the state. 

โ€œI chose Wilson because there is a pocket of very active families,โ€ Walsh said. โ€œWe have two death by distribution cases going on (in the court system). 

Local elected officials, public health professionals, advocates, parents of fentanyl victims, first responders and representatives from the Wilson County Substance Prevention Coalition and the Wilson County district attorneyโ€™s office will be in attendance at the Feb. 1 town hall meeting. Local law enforcement members have also been invited, organizers said. 

โ€œI think itโ€™s important for people to see these numbers and realize how many people are dying,โ€ said Lisa Bennett, co-organizer of the event. Bennett lost her son, 22-year-old Mason Bennett, in February 2023. He died after taking what he believed was a Percocet, a prescription painkiller, but it was laced with fentanyl, she has said. Since her sonโ€™s death, Bennett has been working with Walsh and her nonprofit. 

Walsh said 18,457 people in North Carolina have died as a result of fentanyl over a 10-year period. 

From 2013 to October 2023, there have been 138 fentanyl deaths in Wilson County alone, according to state data Walsh has compiled.

SOUNDING THE ALARM 

Walsh founded the Raleigh-based nonprofit after her daughter, Sophia Walsh, died from fentanyl poisoning in August 2021. Walshโ€™s daughter drank what she thought was a bottled water from someoneโ€™s refrigerator. 

Unbeknownst to her, it contained diluted fentanyl. Sophia died, and no one called 911 until 10 hours later, Walsh said. No one was charged. 

โ€œWe didnโ€™t know what she died from until five months later,โ€ Walsh said. 

After her daughterโ€™s death, Walsh channeled her grief into research, advocacy and justice for other victims. Walsh has worked across the state to bring awareness to the dangers of fentanyl and has worked with families to demand justice in their cases by utilizing state law and getting those responsible charged. 

โ€˜IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOUR CHILDโ€™

Walsh said thereโ€™s a misconception about fentanyl deaths. She said not all deaths are the result of someone in active addiction. Some people are simply experimenting. 

Seven out of 10 โ€œstreetโ€ pressed copycat pills contain lethal fentanyl additives, according to officials. 

Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, is a synthetic opioid that can be lethal even in small doses.

โ€œIt could happen to your child,โ€ Walsh said. โ€œThe pressed pills are the culprit.โ€ 

Organizers hope to educate families and encourage parents to talk with their children about the dangers that are out there. 

โ€œIf we can stop just one family from having to go through this it will be worth it,โ€ Bennett said. 

Bennett said more lives will be saved if more people are armed with Narcan. 

โ€œThey cannot save themselves,โ€ Walsh said. โ€œSomeone in the community will have to save them.โ€ 

For more information about Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina visit www.fentvic.org

2 arrested in overdose death

Accused of dealing deadly drugs

Read the original article on the Harnett County Daily Record website (may be behind paywall).

Two Harnett County men are facing death by distribution charges in the April 2024 overdose death of a 29-year-old wife and mother of three.

Jonathan William Smith
Cody Keen Pope

The Harnett County Sheriffโ€™s Office arrested 32-year-old Cody Keen Pope, of 2717 Old Stage Road South in Erwin, and 42-year-old Jonathan William Smith, of 134 S. Railroad St., Coats, in the death of Logan Brianne Carr. Both men face charges of death by distribution through the unlawful sale or delivery of certain controlled substances, namely fentanyl and methamphetamine in this case.

Carr was a homemaker and the mother of one son and two daughters.

โ€œLogan was a beautiful bright soul with sparkling eyes, big smile, and a quick laugh,โ€ her obituary states. โ€œShe never saw the bad in people, only the hope of what they could be.โ€

Prior to her death, Carr was accepted to the community college system and was planning to pursue a degree in criminal justice with the goal of becoming a probation officer. She was battling an addiction the day she died on Sunday, April 14, 2024. She is survived by her children, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, sisterโ€™s family and a host of other family members and friends.

Logan Brianne Carr, 29, died of an overdose on April 14, 2024.

Pope and Smith were both out on bond in other cases when they were taken into custody for the deadly distribution charge on Wednesday. In Popeโ€™s other case, heโ€™s facing charges of identity theft and obtaining property through a false pretense from a reported offense in January 2024, when he was accused of transferring $2,500 out of another guyโ€™s CashApp into his account. He was initially arrested on those charges six weeks after Carrโ€™s death.

Smith was out on a $500,000 bond, awaiting a December 2025 hearing on charges of felony possession of marijuana, four counts of trafficking in meth and trafficking in opioids when he was picked up Wednesday.

In a first appearance hearing Thursday, Popeโ€™s bond was set at $750,000 secured and Smithโ€™s was set at $1 million secured.

Three people arrested in connection to a fatal overdose in New Hanover County

Read the original article and watch the video on the WECT News 6 website.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – Three people have been arrested in connection to the fatal overdose of an 83-year-old in New Hanover County.

The New Hanover County Sheriffโ€™s Office (NHCSO) says on Dec. 6, 2024, deputies found an 83-year-old woman dead inside her home on Horndale Drive in New Hanover County.

On Jan. 10, deputies arrested 30-year-old Michael Britt, 46-year-old Daniel Reaves, and 45-year-old Melissa Norris-Cribb in connection to the overdose.

Britt was charged with:

  • Death by Distribution
  • Trafficking in Opium or Heroin/Fentanyl
  • Trafficking Methamphetamines
  • Possession with the intent to Manufacture, Sell and Deliver Fentanyl
  • Sell and Deliver Schedule I (Fentanyl)
  • Conspiracy to Sell Schedule I (Fentanyl)
  • Maintain/Sell/Deliver/Possess within 1000 feet of a school
  • Possession of a firearm by a felon

According to NHCSO, Britt received an additional 23 drug-related charges and has a $1,190,000 secured bond.

Cribb was charged with:

  • Death by Distribution
  • Possession with the intent to Manufacture, Sell, and Deliver Schedule I (Fentanyl)
  • Sell and Deliver Schedule I (Fentanyl)
  • Conspiracy to Sell Schedule I (Fentanyl)

According to NHCSO, Cribb received a $155,000 secured bond.

Reaves was charged with:

  • Death by Distribution
  • Possession with the intent to Manufacture, Sell, and Deliver Schedule I (Fentanyl)
  • Sell and Deliver Schedule 1 (Fentanyl)
  • Conspiracy to Sell Schedule I (Fentanyl)

According to NHCSO, Reaves received no bond as he waits for his first appearance in New Hanover County Superior Court.

WRDC Community Matters January 11, 2025

On Saturday January 11, 2025 WRDC Community Matters aired a special episode where Barb Walsh, Michelle Murdock, and Betsy Moore from Wake County shared their stories.

Barb Walsh, Executive Director of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, fights to save lives and get justice for those killed by fentanyl poisoning. Joining Barb in the fight are Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina members Michelle Murdock and Betsy Ballard Moore.

There are two episodes being aired, Part 1 is airing January 11th, Part 2 will air one week later, January 18.

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