Tag: death by distribution

Carteret County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office are fighting hard against fentanyl crisis

Read the original article and watch the video on the WNCT0 On Your Side website.

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT)- The Carteret County Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with the District Attorney’s Office (District 4) continue to try to stay ahead of the fentanyl crisis and enforce the law to save lives.

Earlier this week the offices helped convict Hugh Crandall Willis Jr. of Gloucester, N.C. with Death by Distribution of Fentanyl, Sale and Delivery of Fentanyl and Felonious Possession of Fentanyl. A jury found him guilty of his role in the death of his girlfriend, Bethany JoAlison Styron.

According to Sheriff Asa Buck III, Carteret County has had three overdose deaths this year with more than 150 overdose cases in the past five years. However, he also says the county has seen a significant drop over that time period.

“Three is still too many,” Buck said. “One is too many, but it’s nowhere near the numbers of what we were seeing back in 2020, 20, 21, 22, and then in 23 and 24, the numbers began to drop.”

Buck says his office and the District Attorney’s are continuing to be proactive to the issue. The county has convicted more than 10 people with death by distribution and charged more than 30 since the General Assembly passed the statute in 2019.

“We investigate every drug overdose death just like a homicide and we have been for many years,” Buck said.

The sheriff, district attorney and others from the district attorney’s office were recently given the “Save Lives Together” award for their work in holding fentanyl traffickers accountable.

“When people are doing things and it’s causing people to die, that’s not something that you just sit back and say, well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Buck said. “You make that a priority and you certainly try to do the very best you can to investigate those criminal offenses and hold people accountable when and where you can through the court system.”

Gloucester man sentenced over 8 years for fentanyl distribution in girlfriend’s death

Read the original article on the WCTI News12 website.

After a four-day trial in Carteret County Superior Court, District Attorney Scott Thomas and Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck announced that Hugh Crandall Willis, Jr. of Gloucester, was convicted by a jury for his role in the death of his girlfriend, Bethany JoAlison Styron, 25 of Davis.

Willis was convicted of the following:

  • Death by Distribution of Fentanyl
  • Sale and Delivery of Fentanyl
  • Felonious Possession of Fentanyl

Willis was sentenced to an active sentence of 78-106 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, followed by a 6-8 month suspended sentence for 36 months of supervised probation, according to officials.

The following is a release from the State of North Carolina General Court of Justice, Prosecutorial District Four:

During the early evening hours of July 30, 2022, Styron, who was with a friend at the time, pulled into a gas station at the corner of Highway 101 and Steel Tank Road in Carteret County.

After more than an hour sitting at the pump, Styron stopped breathing. Her friend called 911 and EMS pronounced Styron dead. Her cause of death was later confirmed to be from acute Fentanyl toxicity. After a thorough investigation into Styron’s death, Detectives uncovered that late in the day on July 28, 2022, Willis came to the Styron residence and delivered a quantity of Fentanyl to Styron and her friend that was with her during the time when she overdosed. The pair mixed the drugs purchased from Willis into a bag of drugs they had purchased earlier in Kinston. Styron purchased those narcotics on the way home from a weeklong medical inpatient stay at UNCChapel Hill hospital where she was treated for pneumonia, cardiac problems and complications of Hyper IGE Syndrome. Styron used and overdosed on the last amounts of the drugs in that mixture.

In October of 2022, Detectives reached a point in their investigation to charge Willis with the Sale and Distribution of Fentanyl and received an arrest warrant for that charge. When Deputies arrived at Willis’ home to serve him with that warrant and arrest him, Willis was found in possession of more of what was confirmed by the state lab as Fentanyl.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney David L. Spence, the lead detective in the case was Joseph (Cory) Bishop of the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office. The State presented 14 witnesses and 37 exhibits of evidence. The Defendant did not present any evidence. Resident Superior Court Judge Augustus Willis presided over the trial.

Deadly drug overdose leads to arrest in Currituck County

Read the original article on the Norfolk 13NewsNow website.

An extensive investigation into a fatal drug overdose led to the arrest of James Hasty.

CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. — A deadly drug overdose has led to an arrest in Currituck County, the sheriff’s office announced.

Nearly a year ago on April 26, 2024, deputies responded to the overdose death of Raven Massey on Taylors Road, not far from Route 168.

An extensive investigation led to the arrest of James Hasty on Monday. He was charged with death by distribution.

Hasty is being held without bond at the Currituck County Jail.

Man charged for deadly drug overdose in Kannapolis

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

Alex Horne, 27, is charged with death by distribution in connection to the death of Rodney Anthony.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Police have arrested a suspect after a man died from an opioid overdose in April 2024.

Alex Horne, 27, is charged with death by distribution. He is accused of supplying drugs to Rodney Anthony, who died of an opioid overdose.

Anthony died on Fir Avenue on April 20, 2024, according to the Kannapolis Police Department. It took nearly a year after Anthony’s death to identify Horne as the suspect.

Horne was arrested on Tuesday. He is being held with a $750,000 bond in Cabarrus County jail. His next court date is April 9.

Morehead City man charged in OD death

Read the original article and watch the video on the WITN News 7 website.

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WITN) – A man has been charged with the overdose death of a woman last summer in Morehead City.

Morehead City police say Bryan Mace was arrested last Thursday on charges of death by distribution, possession with the intent to sell and deliver a Schedule II controlled substance, and delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance.

Police say Kaitlyn Curry died from an overdose last July. An arrest warrant said Mace delivered fentanyl to the 36-year-old woman

Mace was already in jail for related drug charges. His bond was increased by $750,000 due to these additional charges.

Fentanyl Victims Network of NC to present awards to Sheriff Buck, DA Thomas and team for top efforts to stop fentanyl traffickers

Read the original article on the Carolina Coast Online website.

BEAUFORT — The Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, a nonprofit based in Wake County, plans to present awards to Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas and his team for top efforts in the state to stop fentanyl traffickers.

A ceremony will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on April 12 at the Beaufort Train Depot to recognize Buck, Thomas, Assistant District Attorney David Spence and District Attorney Legal Assistant Michelle Gillikin.

Fentanyl victims and their families will also be recognized and the event is open to the public.

In addition, there will be guest speakers, including Brooke Barnhill with the Carteret County Department of Health and Human Services Post Overdose Response Team (PORT).

Fentanyl Victims Network Executive Director Barbara Walsh, whose daughter died after unintentionally ingesting fentanyl, said, “The Sheriff is receiving an award for having the most in NC of investigations and arrests of fentanyl traffickers who caused a death. This is not because Carteret has the highest rate of fentanyl fatalities in the state. It is because Sheriff Buck cares and allocates resources to find out what caused those deaths. He treats victims and their families with dignity and respect. Some sheriffs have zero arrests.”

She added that Thomas, Spence and Gillikin are receiving awards for the most prosecutions in NC of fentanyl traffickers who cause death, the Death by Distribution charge.

“Again, this is not because Carteret has the highest number of traffickers, it is because the DA believes in keeping the community safe,” she said.

During the ceremony, Walsh said each reward recipient will speak. The event will also feature naloxone training and distribution of free naloxone. Public safety education and prevention materials will be provided.

According to their website, The Fentanyl Victims Network is a nonpartisan, action-oriented statewide grassroots nonprofit that promotes public safety, education, justice, advocacy and support of NC fentanyl victim families in all 100 North Carolina counties. The Beaufort event will be the 28th public safety and education event hosted by the organization in North Carolina.

Other purposes of the group are to spark safety conversations about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly counterfeit pressed pills, and to help provide access to life-saving naloxone in schools and communities. It’s also to connect NC Fentanyl Victim families for support and advocacy.

According to the organization, 18,594 NC residents were killed by fentanyl from 2013-23, and seven out of 10 street-pressed, copy-cat pills contain lethal fentanyl additives. The organization also provided a chart showing that from 2013-23 there were 168 fentanyl fatalities in Carteret County, with 29 Death by Distribution arrests.

In a joint statement about receiving the awards, Buck and Thomas said, “We have been working together as a team on all criminal matters since 2006 including the prescription drug issue which fueled the current heroin and fentanyl crisis we have faced in recent years. We have worked together to strictly prosecute drug offenders and we have supported treatment and recovery efforts to help people achieve recovery from their addictions and go on to live productive and healthy lives,” they stated 

 “We commend the tremendous work that has been done in the area of investigating overdose deaths and prosecuting these cases by Sheriff’s Office Detectives, other local police departments and the District Attorney’s Office prosecutors and legal staff. We are very proud of all of the work that has been done by these dedicated public servants investigating, prosecuting and holding accountable the offenders who have caused the deaths of citizens in our area. We hope our efforts have provided some sense of justice and closure to the families of these overdose victims.”

In addition, Buck and Thomas stated, “Everything we do should send a message to the public that we are working to address serious issues in our community and to let the criminal offenders know that we will not tolerate this type of activity and we seek to arrest, jail and prosecute them.”

For more information about the organization, go to Fentvic.org.

Contact Cheryl Burke at 252-726-7081, ext. 255; email Cheryl@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @cherylccnt.

Woman found guilty of felony death charge following overdose investigation

Read the original article and watch the video on the Fox Carolina News website.

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (FOX Carolina) – The District Attorney’s Office for Prosecutorial District 42 reports that a woman was found guilty after a victim died from ingesting Fentanyl in 2023.

Heather Marie Maybin, 38, from Hendersonville, was found guilty of death by distribution.

The court trial record said that Maybin was a drug dealer who conducted her controlled substances activities over Facebook Messenger.

A transaction she arranged in the Walmart parking lot located off Highland Square Drive on Feb. 6, 2023, involved a quantity of fentanyl sold for $40, the court trial record said.


The investigation revealed the victim and a friend ingested the drug that evening through a hypodermic needle. The victim lost consciousness, stopped breathing and was later declared to have died from Fentanyl toxicity

PREVIOUS: Woman facing felony death charges following overdose investigation

The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office used a search warrant to obtain communications received through Facebook Messenger, court records said.

Maybin was sentenced to a minimum term of 66 months and a maximum term of 92 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

District Attorney Andrew Murray said “My office, along with our dedicated and professional partners, is committed to ridding our community of fentanyl by holding drug dealers accountable for these untimely and extremely tragic deaths.”

After baby’s fentanyl death, Asheville mother found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

Read the original article on the Asheville Citizen Times website.

  • A Buncombe County jury found Samantha Lynn Higgins, 32, of Asheville, guilty of involuntary manslaughter after her child’s fentanyl-related death.
  • Data from a state taskforce shows child deaths by accidental poisoning — mainly caused by fentanyl — has increased statewide in the past few years and “remained high” in 2023.

ASHEVILLE – After a day of deliberation over a partially absent defendant, a Buncombe County jury found an Asheville mother guilty of involuntary manslaughter for her child’s fentanyl-related death — an issue a state taskforce said “remained high” in 2023.

Samantha Lynn Higgins, 32, of Asheville, was on trial in Buncombe County Superior Court after her 8-month-old daughter ingested or had contact with fentanyl while living in “an environment where the juvenile had access to and contact with” the drug, police said in an arrest warrant.

Asheville Police Department detectives began investigating on Sept. 8, 2022, when the child was taken to Mission Hospital. Three days later, the infant was pronounced dead.

The child’s autopsy says her cause of death was complications of blunt force injuries to the head, but fentanyl toxicity was “another significant contributing factor.” Blood sample tests during her hospitalization showed a “potentially lethal level of fentanyl,” and evidence of early organ failure was found during the autopsy, according to a copy obtained by the Citizen Times.

The child’s parents found her unresponsive early in the morning, according to the autopsy, which cites the Buncombe County Medical Examiner and APD. They took her to Mission Hospital’s Emergency Department, where resuscitation was successful, the autopsy said.

“It was reported to law enforcement that one of the parents asked hospital staff to use Narcan on the child during resuscitation, so a urine screen was performed,” which tested positive for fentanyl, the report said.

During APD’s investigation, drug paraphernalia was found “littered throughout” the apartment where the child lived, according to a news release from the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office. The autopsy said the source of the child’s head injury was “unclear” at the time the report was written. Per department policy on case details, APD spokesperson Rick Rice declined to comment on the circumstances that may have led to the infant’s death.

Woman pleads guilty to death by distribution charge

Read the original article on the Watauga Democrat website.

BOONE — A woman pled guilty to death by distribution, marking the first conviction of its kind in Watauga County.

According to court documents, Angelina G. Miller, 30, was sentenced to 58-82 months in prison after she plead guilty to the charge that stemmed from a June 2023 arrest. She has already served 661 days.

Watauga County Sheriff’s Office Det. William Watson, who was the lead investigator on the case, is pleased with the outcome.

“Overdose deaths have too often been overlooked, but this conviction reinforces the importance of thorough investigations and justice for victims and their families,” said Det. Watson. “I extend my deepest condolences to the Greenlee family and friends mourning the tragic loss of Karma at just 22 years old. This investigation was conducted in her honor, ensuring her memory contributes to justice and awareness.”

Watson also expressed gratitude to the Watauga County District Attorney’s Office for its dedication to prosecuting this case, as well as the Boone Police Department, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Carter County Sheriff’s Office and Hickory Police Department for their “invaluable” support. He said the case was “only possible through the collective efforts of all involved.”

According to previous reporting by the Watauga Democrat, Miller sold Fentanyl to Karma L. Greenlee who later died due to an overdose on March 14, 2023.

WCSO detectives began an investigation into the suspected overdose with assistance from the Boone Police Department, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Alexander County Sheriff’s Office and the Hickory Police Department. Two suspects were identified for allegedly selling and distributing the Fentanyl that killed Greenlee: William M. Oxentine, of Johnson County, Tennessee, and Angelina G. Miller, of Catawba County. Oxentine will be served with the Death by Distribution charge once he has served his current time on the unrelated charges in Tennessee.

Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina Executive Director Barb Walsh said there were 35 fentanyl related fatalities between 2013-2023. Her daughter, Sophia Walsh, died in 2021 due to fentanyl.

“Undisclosed fentanyl additives are found in fake/counterfeit pills such as Adderall, Xanax, Oxycontin and Percocet,” Walsh said. “Victims obtain fake pills off the internet like SnapChat, from local dealers or from friends. They do not know they are fake and deadly. A Pharmacy is the only safe supplier of prescription medication. Deadly undisclosed fentanyl additives may also occur in recreational drugs such as cocaine, meth and heroin. This is a public safety issue across the state.”

To learn more about fentanyl deaths in North Carolina and prevention tools, visit fentanylvictimsnetworknc.org.

“There is an antidote for opioid toxicity,” Walsh said. “It is called naloxone, also known by brand names such as Narcan, Kloxxado, and Revive. Naloxone nasal spray can be obtained without prescription at a pharmacy, your local health department and from local Harm Reduction organizations.”

Watauga Sheriff Len Hagaman commended the investigative team’s hard work and emphasized the broader significance of this case.

“We hope that no other family has to endure the heartbreak of losing a loved one to an overdose. This conviction serves as a critical step in promoting accountability and preventing future tragedies in our community and beyond,” said Sheriff Hagaman.

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