fentanyl Archives - Page 5 of 34 - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

Three Clinton-area men are behind bars this afternoon, facing a multitude of drug charges related to an ongoing death investigation involving a 49-year-old woman believed to have died from a suspected fentanyl overdose.

Warrants were issued Tuesday for James Bradford, 38, 1200 Taylors Bridge Hwy., Clinton, Dustin Millen, 37, 1200 Taylors Bridget Hwy., Clinton, and Benjamin Rackley, 43, of 50 Quarterhorse Lane, Clinton, with Bradford being taken into custody Tuesday, Nov. 18, and Miller and Rackley jailed earlier today, Nov. 20.

Miller is facing charges of trafficking in Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), possession methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, sell or delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance, conspiracy to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to Sampson County Sheriff’s reports, Bradford was charged with trafficking in a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Rackley, reports show, was charged with maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, sell or deliver of a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), conspiracy to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The arrests come on the heels of a joint operation between the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Investigation Division, the Uniform Patrol Division, the Criminal Interdiction Team and the Animal Control unit.

Sampson County Sheriff’s Capt. Marcus Smith noted in a release that a series of three search warrants were issued as a result of that operation, followed by the arrest of the three individuals.

The warrants were obtained, he said, as part of an ongoing probe into the 49-year-old Clinton woman’s death on Nov. 18, one suspected to be tied to a fentanyl overdose.

Leland man pleads guilty to death by distribution

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

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – A Leland man has pleaded guilty to charges involving a fatal overdose in 2022.

42-year-old William McKinley Huckaby pleaded guilty to death by distribution and attempted trafficking in methamphetamine, according to a release from the District Attorney’s Office.

James Ray Lewis, 42, died from fentanyl toxicity on June 24, 2022. Investigators from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office discovered a syringe and other drug paraphernalia near his body, which suggested fentanyl ingestion.

Detectives later discovered text messages between the two men. In one message, Huckaby encouraged Lewis to steal vacuums from a retailer in exchange for drugs, according to authorities.

The other messages also indicate that Huckaby had previously profited from tools Lewis stole in exchange for drugs, according to the DA’s Office.

Law enforcement claimed that Huckaby had roughly 26 grams of methamphetamine and a dosage unit of fentanyl on him when he was arrested.

“William Huckaby encouraged those severely addicted to opioids to steal merchandise for him with the promise of fentanyl for payment,” District Attorney Jason W. Smith said. “Huckaby’s exploitation of the addicted represents why our lawmakers enacted the Death by Distribution law. In many instances, severe addiction disrupts the decision-making parts of the brain, and those who profit while exploiting this addiction will be sent to prison.”

Huckaby was sentenced to 76 to 104 months in prison and 2 years in the residential recovery program TROSA afterward.

October Hometown Hero: Annie Brown

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

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – After losing her 26-year-old son, Tyler Dees, to fentanyl in 2022, Annie Brown of Carteret County has turned unimaginable grief into a powerful mission of hope and healing for others battling addiction.

Dees, a Carteret County native, was known for his love of fishing, making lures, and spending time with friends and family. His mother says his death came after years of struggling with mental health issues.

“I got the call the next day from his dad that he was gone,” Brown said. “I knew he was going to pass away before I moved back from California, I just didn’t know it would happen right before the holidays. He’s at peace right now with all the demons he was battling. He was diagnosed at a very early age with depression.”

Brown says her son’s death was not an isolated tragedy.

From revival to recovery: Some paramedics are changing the front line of addiction care

Read the original article on the North Carolina Health News website.

Supplies, such as the medications naloxone and buprenorphine, carried by Buncombe County community paramedics on the post-overdose response team. Credit: Courtesy of Justin Hall

By Rachel Crumpler

A life lost in Buncombe County in 2022 still weighs on — and motivates — Shuchin Shukla, a family physician who specializes in addiction medicine.

A community paramedic had responded to an overdose involving a person recently released from jail. After reviving them, the paramedic told the patient about a soon-to-launch program that would start people on a medication used to treat opioid addiction after an overdose.

“That would be amazing if you had it now, I would like to start now,” the patient said, according to a shift note of the encounter.

But the program was still 10 days from launch.

Soon after, the person used again, experienced a second overdose and went into cardiac arrest. They later died at the hospital.

“For the team working on this, the case hit home that every moment of every day matters for patients. At any minute, they’re at risk of dying or having an overdose,” Shukla said. “That’s how critical this is.”

For months, Shukla had been working with Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services to launch Buncombe Bridge to Care, a project to equip paramedics to administer buprenorphine — a medication proven to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms, reduce cravings and support long-term recovery for people with opioid use disorder — when responding to overdoses or others in the community struggling with addiction.

“Every life is worth saving”: How a UNC researcher’s website is connecting communities to naloxone

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

Delesha Carpenter’s personal tragedy has fueled her mission to combat opioid overdoses through increased naloxone access. Her new website with UNC maps naloxone availability across NC’s 100 counties.

Delesha Carpenter began her career as a researcher focused on pediatrics. A little over seven years ago, her path took an unexpected turn following the deaths of two close friends.

“A lot of people who get into this field, it’s personal,” Carpenter said. “I lost two friends within two weeks of each other to opioid overdoses. That really inspired me to increase access to naloxone.”

The researcher and professor with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy recently launched NalxoneNearMe.org. The website features an interactive map of all 100 North Carolina counties, rating them based on the number of naloxone distribution services available.

Durham County is tied with Mecklenburg County as the highest rated counties on the map with a score of 88. Wake County wasn’t far behind with a score of 77.

Carpenter told WRAL the Naloxone Availability Scores are based on the level of availability of no-cost naloxone and pharmacies that sell naloxone in each county.

Naloxone distribution resources are categorized into 14 types, including syringe service programs, EMS, harm reduction organizations, health departments, pharmacies and healthcare providers.

“The highest score a county can receive is 100, which would mean that all 14 naloxone sources included in the Naloxone Availability Score are present in that county,” Carpenter explained. “If a county had one harm reduction program in the county, they would get the same amount of ‘credit’ toward the score as a county that had two or three reduction programs.”

Increased naloxone use and availability are among the efforts researchers say have contributed to a reduction in opioid overdose deaths in recent years.

WRAL investigated how the medication works when taking viewers inside the human body to reveal the way naloxone fights against opioid overdoses.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 41,500 North Carolinians died from overdoses between 2000-2023.

As of the latest data available from 2024, overdose deaths decreased by approximately 32% from the year prior.

“One thing is everybody’s life is worth saving. It is important to carry naloxone, especially if you’re going to be in situations where people are going to be using drugs, you never know what is in the drugs that you’re using,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said increasing the availability of medications for opioid use, such as buprenorphine and methadone, would also help reduce overdose fatalities.

“Other resources that people should be aware of, and one that’s linked on our website, is Naloxone Saves. Ours tells you what types of sources are available, but you can go to the Naloxone Saves website and find the actual pharmacies that carry and stock naloxone, or find your health department and whether it’s distributing naloxone,” Carpenter added.

Naloxone will not harm someone who hasn’t taken an opioid, so it is recommended even when it is unclear what kind of drug a person has taken.

More than one dose may be needed because some opioids, like fentanyl, can take a stronger hold on the opioid receptors.

OCME Reports Update

The North Carolina Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has published a new set of reports, visit the OCME reports page to view the new reports.

HIDDEN DANGER: As fentanyl takes over opioids, innocent victims fall prey

Read the original article on the Daily Record website.

Theresa Mathewson and Susan Burkhart never asked for this. They never asked for their mission in life to be educating others about the dangers of fentanyl, but after they both lost a child to fentanyl poisonings that’s what they’re doing.

And now — that drug they’re warning others about — is popping up in all kinds of places and hurting all kinds of people, including the innocent.

Susan Burkhart, left, and Theresa Matthewson look at a poster filled with faces of Harnett County residents killed by fentanyl poisoning. Burkhart lost her granddaughter. Matthewson lost her son. Both women now fight to save as many others as they can.

It was added to the percocet pills that killed Mathewson’s son and Burkhart’s granddaughter. Dunn police found it in pills that looked like Flintstones vitamins. Sampson County medical workers found it in cigarettes. It was even in the bottle of water that killed Sophia Walsh, whose mother leads the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

“Fentanyl is everywhere,” Lt. Patrice Bogertey, of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, told The Daily Record in April. “Fentanyl is commonly mixed with heroin, cocaine, meth, and other narcotics to enhance their effects. It is available in various forms, including nasal sprays, liquids, pills, and powders.”

Dealers have hidden it in liquid eye drops and Advil liquid gel pills, in candy and in edibles.

Burlington man charged with death by distribution in fatal overdose case

Read the original article on the ABC45 News website.

BURLINGTON, N.C. — The Burlington Police Department has charged Christopher Jacob Tidwell, 29, with death by distribution following a six-month investigation into a fatal overdose. The incident occurred on March 26, 2025, in the 2500 block of South Church Street in Burlington, N.C. Tidwell, a Burlington resident, was already being held on pending trafficking fentanyl charges related to the same investigation. He has not received a bond for these charges.

The Burlington Police Department emphasized its commitment to holding fentanyl traffickers accountable and pursuing justice for overdose victims.

“Fentanyl continues to be a leading cause of fatal overdoses across the nation,” the department stated, adding that it will “continue to work aggressively to identify and prosecute those who distribute this deadly substance.”

North Carolina man charged in fatal drug overdose in Burlington

Read the original article on the WXII 12 website.

BURLINGTON, N.C. —

A 29-year-old man is charged with a fatal overdose that occurred in Burlington.

The Burlington Police Department said the death occurred in March in the area of South Church Street. The Burlington Police Department’s Opiate and Violent Crime Unit (OVCU) charged Christopher Jacob Tidwell, 29, of Burlington with Death by Distribution following the six-month investigation. Tidwell was being held on pending trafficking fentanyl charges that originated from the same investigation and additionally charged with death by distribution. He did not receive a bond.