QCN Special: Combating the fentanyl crisis in the Carolinas

The opioid crisis has ravaged communities and families across the Carolinas. Watch this Queen City News special report on fentanyl in the Carolinas on YouTube.

Fentanyl trafficking is big business in the Queen City. Feds want to run it dry.

Read the original article on the Charlotte Observer website.

By Julia Coin of the Charlotte Observer.

Charlotte, a U.S. banking hub, was one of the first cities targeted in by a federal Treasury Department program aimed at shutting down fentanyl suppliersโ€™ businesses.

Charlotteโ€™s fentanyl problem has prompted federal attention and intervention. Officials involved in a U.S. Treasury program rolled out under President Joe Biden met in Charlotte Wednesday to join private and public leaders โ€” from federal agents to sheriffs to bankers โ€” to learn how to better shut down fentanyl traffickersโ€™ business operations.

Charlotte โ€” the countryโ€™s second-largest banking center โ€” was one of the first seven U.S. cities the program, called PROTECT, visited since it launched in May. It is focused almost entirely on finding fentanyl dealers and suppliers and severing them from their money.

The U.S. Attorneyโ€™s Office for the Western District of North Carolina has a similar program in place, but the federal involvement will enhance how information is shared between private and public sectors โ€” or between federal agents, sheriffs and bankers, officials said. It is designed to give prosecutors more insight into how dealers move money, from quick ATM deposits to big bank account transfers.

Fentanyl has killed 37,000 North Carolinans in the last two decades, according to N.C. Department of Justice data.

The highly addictive and lethal synthetic opioid has flooded communities around Charlotte and overwhelmed local jails, police departments, courts and even classrooms, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

Grassroots organizations, like the nonprofit Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, tackle the trickle-down effect of fentanylโ€™s pervasiveness.

โ€œA person like me โ€” a person with a dead kid โ€” Iโ€™m worried about getting dealers off the street,โ€ said Barb Walsh, the executive director of the nonprofit.

The U.S. Treasury Department exists in a different sphere, she said, but those spheres canโ€™t stay separate for much longer.

โ€œIf thereโ€™s nobody else at the national level trying to help,โ€ she said, โ€œthen what weโ€™re doing wonโ€™t matter.โ€

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, in an interview with The Charlotte Observer, said the department is focused on cutting the drug off at its source.

โ€œIf you are a drug dealer or if you are someone whoโ€™s running a distribution network,โ€ he said, โ€œyou should know, and your family should know that weโ€™re going to come after the money you are making by selling these drugs into these communities and killing our local citizens.โ€

Mother of NC fentanyl victim turns tragedy to advocacy amid growing crisis

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) โ€” According to the CDC, tens of thousands of people die each year from fentanyl. Itโ€™s an issue affecting people across the country, and right here in North Carolina.

Heaven Leigh Nelson, a 24-year-old victim of fentanyl. (Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)

Officials have been working on solutions for years to get fentanyl out of the state and country.

Just two milligrams of this powerful synthetic opioid is enough to kill the average person, and it does just that, every day.

โ€œShe loved everyone, and everyone loved her,โ€ said Patricia Drewes of her daughter, Heaven Leigh Nelson. Drewes said in her daughterโ€™s 24 years on this earth, she loved photography, the arts and people.

โ€œShe used to tell me all the time that there was no such thing as strangers. The strangers were friends that we just hadnโ€™t met yet and thatโ€™s the way she lived her life,โ€ she added.

Drewes said one day, Heaven went to a party.

โ€œSomething happened to her at a partyโ€”something tragicโ€”and that set her into a tailspin. So, my daughter did suffer from a substance abuse disorder and that was caused by this tragic event,โ€ Drewes said.

Her daughter went to a rehabilitation center in Kentucky for help.

โ€œSomeone brought her back home against my wishes. They had sent me a message saying they wanted to bring her back. You know, that she wanted to come home and I refused to bring her home because I wanted her to finish the program,โ€ Drewes said.

She said Heaven came back home to Vance County, N.C. just before she received the call every parent fears.

โ€œOn a Monday night, January 28, 2019, and my fiancรฉ answered the phone, and I heard him say oh God oh no,โ€ Drewes said. โ€œI think that my mind knew but my heart didnโ€™t want to accept that it was about my daughter.โ€

Heaven passed away and it was not until months later that Drewes said she learned fentanyl took her daughterโ€™s life. At the time, she says, she knew nothing about fentanyl.

โ€œAbsolutely nothing. No one was talking about illicit fentanyl in 2019. I had no clue,โ€ said Drewes. โ€œIt felt like someone had punched me in my face and a gut punch because to me, illicit fentanyl, is, thatโ€™s a poisoning. Thatโ€™s murder. And thatโ€™s what it felt like when I read the fentanyl. And Iโ€™m like, what is fentanyl?โ€

โ€œA larger issue every single dayโ€

Just the tiniest bit of fentanyl, two milligrams, is enough to kill the average person.

โ€œItโ€™s not just those that have a substance use disorder dying in this country. Everyoneโ€™s children are dying. We have infants, we have toddlers, we have teenagers, young adults, those with substance use disorder, and those withoutโ€”dying. You know, it affects everyone,โ€ said Drewes.

According to data from the North Carolina Division of Health and Human Services, in 2012, 140 people died from fentanyl state-wide. In 2021, the number skyrocketed to 3,117. The most-recent finalized data available comes from 2021, according to the department.

In Wake County in 2012, there was a more than 8,700% increase in deaths from fentanyl during that same time period.

In Durham County, there was an 8,900% increase in deaths from fentanyl from 2012 to 2021.

โ€œWell, unfortunately, Mary, itโ€™s becoming a larger issue every single day. And thatโ€™s not an over-exaggeration. For example, last year, my deputies seized approximately 3.7, little less than four grams of fentanyl. And earlier this year, we have seized over 300 grams of fentanyl,โ€ said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.

At the sheriffโ€™s office, evidence technicians handle suspected fentanyl in plastic bags. The โ€œcontrolled contrabandโ€ was seized by the sheriffโ€™s office. In the room with the evidence is Narcan, just in case.

โ€œWeโ€™ve seized in pills. Weโ€™ve seized pill presses along with it. Itโ€™s been laced. Marijuana is being laced with fentanyl. So, weโ€™re seeing it in unimaginable places,โ€ said Sheriff Birkhead. โ€œThis is an industry that is making money. Fentanyl is far cheaper than any other drug to manufacture or to make these days. We know that this is not just a North Carolina or East Coast problem. The precursors for fentanyl come from China. The drugs are coming up from the southern border. Theyโ€™re coming across from the northern border, and theyโ€™re just infiltrating cities all across the country. And unfortunately, it has made its way to Durham.โ€

Provisional data from the CDC states in 2023, there were an estimated 74,702 deaths from synthetic opioids, which it says is primarily fentanyl. Thatโ€™s down slightly from 76,226 in 2022.
Provisional data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from June 2024 shows โ€œfentanyl positiveโ€ deaths also trending downward. These are deaths where fentanyl was detected but the personโ€™s official cause of death has not been ruled/determined.

Turning tragedy into advocacy

While there are reported decreases in deaths, Drewes tells us, there is so much work to do. After her daughterโ€™s death, she founded โ€˜Forgotten Victims of North Carolina,โ€ is one of two state representatives for the North Carolina chapter of Drug-Induced Homicide Foundation, and is the Vice President of โ€˜Lost Voices of Fentanyl.โ€™

โ€œWe are the largest fentanyl advocacy group in the country. We host a national event every year at the national monument, and we march to the white house,โ€ said Drewes.

Sometimes attending these advocacy events by her side is her daughterโ€™s son. โ€œShe was my only child so he will be my only grandchild and thatโ€™s what I call him. Heโ€™s my gift from God and Heaven.โ€

(Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)

Drewes told CBS 17 she wants more people held accountable in these cases. In North Carolina, there is a criminal charge called death by distribution. However, she says no one has been charged in connection to her daughterโ€™s death.

How to access naloxone, other resources in NC

In North Carolina, there is a statewide standing order for naloxone, commonly known by the brand name, โ€œNarcan.โ€ It authorizes pharmacists to dispense naloxone to any person meeting the criteria.

Under this order, it is available without a prescription at most retail pharmacies in the state. It is also covered under most insurance policies. It is also available at local health departments and many syringe service programs.

According to preliminary SSP data from DHHS, more than 114,000 naloxone overdose rescue kits were distributed last year. For more information about naloxone and other statewide resources, visit the NCDHHS website or https://naloxonesaves.org/.

After fentanyl killed a Candler woman, sheriffโ€™s investigators cleared the wrong man. Months later, an Iowa man was dead

Read the original article on the Asheville Watchdog website.

Authorities mistook man with same last name as supplier, but never followed up after their error

A Candler womanโ€™s overdose death three years ago led investigators to a North Carolina dealer peddling illegal drugs through the mail to addicts nationwide.

Rachel Scillitani, 29, died of a fentanyl overdose in her Candler apartment in May 2021. Seven months later, Danny Birch Jr, of Dubuque, Iowa, was dead of drugs from the same supplier suspected in Scillitaniโ€™s death. // Photos provided by the Scillitani and Birch families

But the Buncombe County Sheriffโ€™s Office investigated the wrong man and failed to pursue leads that could have put James Adam Earwood out of business, according to federal court testimony. Seven months later, in December 2021, an Iowa man died from fentanyl and heroin he bought from Earwood, who boasted of his โ€œfirst confirmed killโ€ as evidence of his drugsโ€™ potency.

Earwood of Rutherfordton had been identified as a likely supplier of the fentanyl that killed Rachel Scillitani, 29, in her Candler apartment in May 2021. But Buncombe sheriffโ€™s detectives interviewed and cleared another man with the same last name, Special Agent Bryce Husak of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service testified at an April federal court hearing.

โ€œIt is your testimony today that they were actually investigating the wrong Adam Earwood?โ€ a prosecutor asked.

โ€œCorrect,โ€ Husak responded.

There was no follow-up investigation of the right Earwood or effort to determine his whereabouts around the time Scillitani bought the fentanyl and died, nor were records on a payment app she used to buy drugs subpoenaed, the agent testified.

Continue reading “After fentanyl killed a Candler woman, sheriffโ€™s investigators cleared the wrong man. Months later, an Iowa man was dead”

Man connected to fentanyl overdose death of Wilson teen appears in court on Tuesday


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

The man accused of killing a teenager through fentanyl distribution appeared in court on Tuesday in Wilson County. Albert Wilson Green, 23, appeared before a judge on Tuesday. In May, authorities charged Green in connection to the 2023 death of a 17-year-old in Wilson.

The man accused of killing a teenager through fentanyl distribution appeared in court on Tuesday in Wilson County.

Albert Wilson Green, 23, appeared before a judge on Tuesday. In May, authorities charged Green in connection to the 2023 death of a 17-year-old in Wilson.

Several family members of victims of fentanyl poisoning were outside the courthouse on Tuesday, including Felicia Puente Castro, the mother of Jacob Castro.

โ€œHe was young โ€ฆ full of life,โ€ she said.

Wilson police officers found Jacob Castro, who was 17 at the time, unresponsive and not breathing on Sept. 25, 2023, at a home on Hillcrest Drive. Castro died at the scene.

During their investigation, authorities determined Castro died as a result of fentanyl intoxication. Officers identified Green as the man responsible for selling Castro narcotics at the time of his death.

Castro, 17, died in 2023 due to a fentanyl overdose.

โ€œHe believed he was purchasing one thing, but he got fentanyl,โ€ Castroโ€™s mother said. โ€œWe believe that Albert Green knew what he was selling Jacob.โ€

In October 2023, Authorities arrested and charged Green with one count of selling and delivering schedule II-controlled substance related to Castroโ€™s death. In May, authorities added a charge of felony death by distribution.

Green turned himself in on May 29. Nearly a dozen people arrived in a courtroom Tuesday to support Castroโ€™s family as Green and his lawyer asked a judge for a trial.

Green, 23, is charged with death by distribution in the death of a Wilson teenager in 2023.

โ€œItโ€™s hard to look at him and know that one person can cause so much damage,โ€ Felicia Castro said. โ€œNot only for me and Issac, but to our group and so many in our group behind us.โ€

One of those people supporting Felicia Castro was Barb Walsh, the executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina. Walsh founded the group one year after her daughter passed away from drinking out of a water bottle with traces of fentanyl.

โ€œItโ€™s just like a chocolate chip cookie; we donโ€™t know where the chocolate chips are going to end up,โ€ Walsh said. โ€œWe donโ€™t know where the fentanyl ends up in a pill. You could cut it in half. One person takes half [and] the other person takes half. One dies, one lives. Itโ€™s not worth the risk.โ€

Fentanyl Victims Network of NC outside Wilson County courthouse.

North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation towards the end of 2023, which made it easier for law enforcement to charge and prosecute people suspected of distributing drugs linked to overdose deaths.

The law also no longer requires proof that drugs were sold to the victim in the case of a fatal overdose, just that the suspect supplied the drugs.

The law went into effect on Dec. 1.

While the law now makes it easier to prosecute drug dealers for overdose deaths, it still could take families months to determine whether a family member died from an overdose.

In June, WRAL Investigates received exclusive access to the chief medical examiner’s office and forensic toxicology lab. The lab said they have jurisdiction over all sudden, unexpected, violent and suspicious deaths in the entire state.

According to Chief Medical Examiner Michelle Aurelius, at least 15,000 family members are still waiting to learn the cause of death of a loved one, with Aurelius saying drug overdose deaths are surging.

โ€œWhen we look back at 2016 for the fentanyl-positive deaths here in North Carolina, weโ€™ve gone up 584%,โ€ she said.

Felicia Castro said her son will always be with her, and she hopes she can give him a sense of justice with Green behind bars.

โ€œJustice looks like [Green] spending time in prison for his crime,โ€ she said. โ€œJustice looks like no more young people dying from fentanyl โ€ฆ no more children.โ€

Green told WRAL News at the courthouse that he had no comment on his case. He is due in court again on Dec. 10.

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.”

Mom who lost son to fentanyl poisoning urges I-SS Board to put Naloxone in district schoolsMom who lost son to fentanyl

Read the original article on the Iredell Free News website.

Pictured are Robby Lemons and Stefanie Duck, holding up a picture of her son Timothy โ€œTJโ€ Cothron Jr., who died in February 2022 from fentanyl poisoning.

Stefanie Duck will always remember her son, Timothy โ€œTJโ€ Cothron Jr., as hard working, kind and compassionate.

โ€œHe never met a stranger. He was always willing to help anyone who asked and brought light to everyoneโ€™s world he entered,โ€ she said.

In February of 2022, about eight months after graduating from South Iredell High School, TJ died from fentanyl poisoning. He was 18.

His mother hopes that by sharing his story she can help prevent other young people from accidentally overdosing.

Continue reading “Mom who lost son to fentanyl poisoning urges I-SS Board to put Naloxone in district schoolsMom who lost son to fentanyl”

โ€˜We dropped the ballโ€™: Gaston County couple raises fentanyl awareness in memory of their son

Read the original article (with pictures) and watch the video on the Queen City News website.

GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) โ€“ Library shelves are full of all sorts of stories. Some have you on the edge of your seat, others make you laugh or answer pressing questions.

At the Dream Center in Gastonia, a photo book at the Austin Library is an introduction to a bigger story.

โ€œWe left one in the library so that students could see who Austin actually was. He was just like them, and that is what I like them to see,โ€ said Tammy Chowdhury.

Her son Austin Chowdhury was well-loved and well-read.

โ€œI feel like he was searching for answers in the world because he read all kinds of things,โ€ Tammy told Queen City News.

The Austin Library is a tribute to the young man who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at 24.

โ€œIt was just a total shock, it didnโ€™t feel real,โ€ Tammy says, taking a breath as she relives that dark day.

Continue reading “โ€˜We dropped the ballโ€™: Gaston County couple raises fentanyl awareness in memory of their son”

PHOTOS: Sen. Thom Tillis leads a roundtable discussion in Wilmington on fentanyl epidemic

The Wilmington Star News published a gallery of photos Senator Thom Tills’ roundtable discussion on the fentanyl epidemic. Read the article and view the pictures on the Wilmington Star News website.

โ€˜Weโ€™re losing ground,โ€™ says Tillis at opioid roundtable in Wilmington

North Carolina ranks number 6 in total drug overdose deaths, with New Hanover County being three times the national average.

Senator Thom Thillis leads a roundtable discussion on the opioid crisis

U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, R-NC, led a roundtable discussion with local elected officials and law enforcement in Wilmington Wednesday on the opioid crisis. 

โ€œNearly a hundred thousand lives are lost every year to opioid, first among them fentanyl,โ€ said Tillis. โ€œWeโ€™ve got to figure out how to make headway. Weโ€™re losing ground.โ€ 

According to a 2020 report from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the majority of the fentanyl that crosses the southern border into the United States originates from China. The report highlights that China remains the primary source of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl precursors which are often smuggled through various routes before reaching the U.S. 

Continue reading “โ€˜Weโ€™re losing ground,โ€™ says Tillis at opioid roundtable in Wilmington”
Translate ยป