Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina
Stronger Together! Grassroots campaign against illicit fentanyl in NC IRS recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity EIN: 88-3921380
The Fentvic New Hanover Billboard project is live in New Hanover County.
The locations of the 6 public safety billboards in New Hanover County are:
Despite the state cracking down on people who deal deadly drugs, holding those responsible remains difficult.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Fentanyl claims the lives of about 12 North Carolinians every day.
Death by distribution laws hold the dealers accountable if users die, but it’s not as simple as tracking the dealer down.
New Hanover and Pender County district attorney Ben David says most cases involving death by distribution don’t go to trial, often because the nature of the crime doesn’t leave much evidence.
“The best victim can’t tell you what happened. And so, we have to try these like any homicide, relying on things like digital footprints and witness interviews,” David said.
David says because they need evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, investigations can take months, sometimes even more than a year, before charges are filed. It’s worth it to the families who have lost someone.
“Everyone’s someone’s baby. And we know that this epidemic is visiting houses across our district. And we are going to go wherever we can to make sure that justice is being done,” he said.
Part of that justice is stiffer penalties, such as murder charges for the dealer if the user dies.
David isn’t buying it when someone says they didn’t know the drugs were laced.
“No one can claim, at this point, that they’re unaware that fentanyl is deadly. And if they are mixing that into drugs or are selling it in a pure form to begin with, they should not be surprised when their best customers are dying,” David said. “They should not be surprised when we try to put them into prison for murder and nothing less.”
David wants people to know that North Carolinians are protected under immunity to call 9-1-1 in the case of an emergency, even if it involves illegal drugs. It can save lives.
Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.
Read the full article and watch the video on the WECT News 6 website.
CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (WECT) – The Carolina Beach Police Department has charged a Wilmington man in connection to an overdose death.
According to the CBPD, 23-year-old Ethan Hill Faircloth was charged with death by distribution on Oct. 2, 2023.
“On September 7th, 2022, Officers with the Carolina Beach Police Department, Carolina Beach Fire Department, and NHRMC Novant EMS responded to the report of an overdose at a residential address on Hamlet Ave.,” a news release states. “The male was found to be deceased upon officers’ arrival and identified as 22-year-old Dennis ‘Nash’ Nye Connor of Carolina Beach, N.C.
“After an extensive investigation, Carolina Beach Police Department Detectives were able to identify Faircloth as being responsible for the distribution of illegal narcotics that led to Mr. Connor’s death.”
Faircloth was served with the Death by Distribution warrant at the New Hanover County detention center where he already was confined on an unrelated charge from the Wilmington Police Department.
Faircloth was placed on a $100,000 secured bond.
Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.
Read the full article and watch the video on the WECT News 6 website.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says 11 people die from an overdose in the state every day.
Watch the video on the WFMY News 2 website.
ROCKY POINT, N.C. (WECT) – The Pender County Sheriff’s Office released details on Thursday, Oct. 12, concerning the arrest of a New Hanover County man following an investigation into the death of 32-year-old Justin Barnes.
“On September 19, 2022, the Pender County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a death at an address in Rocky Point. Law Enforcement and EMS responded to the address and located 32-year-old Justin Barnes deceased. An autopsy was conducted which showed his death was the result of Fentanyl Toxicity,” the sheriff’s office release states.
According to the announcement, 30-year-old Grayson Kyle Lancaster was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
“The investigation showed Grayson Kyle Lancaster, a 30-year-old resident of New Hanover County, sold the fentanyl-laced narcotics to Mr. Barnes the day of his death,” the release explains. “Mr. Lancaster has been charged with felony Death by Distribution.”
As of Thursday morning, Lancaster’s bond is set at $1 million.
“Agencies to include New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Carolina Beach Police Department along with the Wilmington Police Department assisted in this investigation. During these types of investigations, the sheriff’s office works closely with the District Attorney’s Office throughout the investigation.”
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Pender County Sheriff’s Office at (910) 259-1212 and speak with Det. Short or Det. Lane.
Read the full article and watch the video on the WECT News 6 website.
Raleigh police said Christen Lee Neubert, 40, has been charged in connection with the drug overdose death of Maureen Walsh, 55.
A woman has been arrested and charged in connection with a fatal overdose from February.
Raleigh police said Christen Lee Neubert has been charged in connection with the drug overdose death of 55-year-old Maureen Walsh.
On Thursday, WRAL News obtained a toxicology report for Walsh that indicated methamphetamines and amphetamines were in her system when she died. Methamphetamines are considered a street drug, which is typically made in a lab illegally, whereas amphetamines are usually prescription medications like adderall and ritalin.
Neubert, 40, has been charged with murder. Neubert has pending charges for possessing methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia with two probation violations.
Toxicology results, obtained by WRAL News, showed Walsh had methamphetamines and amphetamines in her system when she died.
Homicide charges in drug overdose cases are rare in North Carolina and difficult to prosecute, according to attorney Daniel Meier.
“How much of your actions caused the death versus the actions of the person who died and who should be responsible for that?” Meier said.
There would also have to be enough evidence to prove one person was directly tied to someone’s death.
“If I sell to Bob who sells to Jane who sells to Sue who sells to Dave and Dave dies, how far up the chain can you go as to who did it,” Meier said.
North Carolina’s “death by distribution” law holds drug dealers liable for murder if their drugs cause someone’s death, even if they didn’t intend to kill anyone.
WRAL asked Raleigh Police if Neubert faced a death by distribution charge. It’s still unclear.
They said: “We charged her with homicide due to evidence that directly links her to contributing to her death.”
North Carolina has changed its “death by distribution” law to make it easier to charge drug dealers with murder in overdose cases, even if they didn’t sell the drugs for money. The new law takes effect in December, but it’s not clear if it will lead to more prosecutions.
“District attorneys ultimately have the say,” Meier said.
Neubert has pending charges for meth and drug paraphernalia, as well as two probation violations.
On Thursday, the judge informed Neubert about the charges against her and told her they would appoint a capital defender to represent her. Her next court date is set for Nov. 2 at 9 a.m.
Read the full article and watch the video on the WRAL News website.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Alex Bradford was about to finish his sophomore year at UNCW when tragedy struck.
At just 19 years old, Alex fell victim to deadly fentanyl poisoning after ingesting fentanyl through drugs he bought from a fellow classmate. He passed away in March of 2022.
“Alex suffered the same pressures as many college students do with mental health, and unknowingly ingested illicit fentanyl because he chose to self-medicate,” Jeremy Bradford, Alex’s father, said.
Now, after months of suffering and grief, Jeremy and Alex’s Mother, Millisa, started 2 Out Rally, a foundation to honor Alex’s legacy and bring awareness to the harmful impacts of fentanyl. The name was inspired by Alex’s love for baseball.
A quote from the 2 Out Rally website says, “2 Out Rally….even in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, there is still time to RALLY. 1 at bat can change the outcome of the game. 1 moment can change your LIFE. NEVER give up, show love and compassion, it could save a life.”
Now, the Bradfords have partnered with Barb Walsh, founder of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, to include Alex in a series of digital billboards across New Hanover County. Walsh is also personally affected by fentanyl, as her daughter, Sophia, passed away from fentanyl poisoning in 2021.
Together, the team has included Alex’s image and story as part of the 13 victims displayed on the billboards. Walsh says she hopes these billboards will inspire other family members of fentanyl poisoning victims to come forward and seek support. She believes that together, they can rally to end the fentanyl epidemic so that no other family has to suffer.
“Those billboards are a public messaging system. They’re a PSA. I want to replicate what the Bradford’s have done because we’re not going to win this if we only work by ourselves,” Walsh said.
But this battle is far from over.
“You’re literally playing Russian roulette if you’re choosing to utilize drugs that you don’t know could be laced with fentanyl. Alex didn’t know,” Bradford said. “It’s really to bring a face to the epidemic, because it doesn’t matter your economic background, your status, how you were raised, your religious belief, fentanyl does not discriminate.”
The locations of the 6 public safety billboards in New Hanover County are:
If you or someone you know is personally affected by fentanyl, you can visit the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina website for more information and support.
To learn more about Alex’s story, you can visit the 2 Out Rally website.
Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.
Read the full article and watch the video on the WECT News 6 web site.
It has been eight months since Fara Eve Barnes has been without her daughter, Skye.
Skye Barnes died inside her dorm at Sullivan Hall on the campus of NC State University on February 11.
“She gave the most amazing hugs. Her hugs were not just a quick release,” said Barnes’ mother. “I miss the things that never happened that we get to have and are blessings in our lives.”
Barnes’ autopsy listed her cause of death as an atrial fibrillation to ibuprofen toxicity.
The ibuprofen overdose, according to Barnes’ mother, was due to the amount of work her computer science major daughter was taking in the spring semester.
“She had communicated how overwhelmed she was with the class load that all day every day was consumed to do homework for these 19 credits that she was guided into taking,” said Barnes. “There had not been an intention. This is the commonality in these stress casualties. You’re not finding this suicide note. Somebody hadn’t made a plan. They’re not thinking about ending their life.”
Barnes told Eyewitness News she could tell something was off with her daughter due to the course load and text messages they had exchanged.
Read the full article and watch the video on the ABC11 News website.
College senior Riley Sullivan often carries a vial of the drug naloxone in his backpack, in a pocket next to his pens and pencils.
He has done this for years, long before he was a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Once, while volunteering at a homeless encampment in his home state of Michigan, he used it to save a man’s life.
“He was using drugs with somebody else, and they did not have naloxone,” Sullivan says. “This guy came out screaming, asking if anyone had some. And I did.”
Naloxone is the antidote to an opioid overdose. Sullivan took a syringe of injectable naloxone from the backpack he was carrying, walked into the tent and loaded it with a vial of medicine.
“I injected it through his pants, into the front of his thigh,” Sullivan recalled. Then he performed rescue breathing on the man. “And luckily he made it.”
Today, Sullivan has a $15,000 supply of injectable naloxone in his closet at his off-campus apartment in Chapel Hill. He and two of his classmates have become unexpected distributors of the drug in this college town where several students have recently died from opioids.
The deaths are largely unknown to the campus community, but they were discussed at a recent public meeting of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees. The university’s director of student wellness Dean Blackburn led the presentation.
“I want to share a shocking statistic with you, that I hope you find shocking. It is for me. In the last 20 months, we have lost three active students and one young alum to fentanyl poisoning,” Blackburn said. “And I use that term specifically; not ‘overdose’ because our students and alum were not using fentanyl.”
“They were using other substances that were laced with fentanyl, and they did not know that. And the result of that poisoning was their death and our loss,” he added.
Read the full article and listen to the interview on the WUNC website.
The following OpEd is from the Oct 9 edition of the Carolina Journal.
While most of North Carolina’s political observers have been focused on the long-awaited completion of the state budget, there have also been other bills progressing through the legislature — like SB 189, Fentanyl Drug Offenses and Other Related Changes, which increases fines and penalties for distributing the drug and sets up a task force to come up with new law enforcement strategies.
The bill aims to crack down on fentanyl and other powerful synthetic opioids, a positive step in an environment where over 100,000 people per year are dying of drug overdoses, including over 4,000 North Carolinians. The explosion of these deaths, which used to total around 5,000 people annually nationwide before the new millennium, has made it now the leading cause of death for adults 18-45, higher than other major causes like car accidents or heart disease. Over 70% of overdose deaths are due to fentanyl, an opioid so powerful many immediately overdose and die when they try it for the first time.
State Sens. Tom McInnis, Danny Britt, and Michael Lazzara introduced the bill, which passed the Senate unanimously in March. This week, SB 189 also passed the House, albeit with 20 Democrats voting against. Now the bill heads to the governor for his signature or veto, and at least some on the left think he should choose the latter.
Before the House vote was taken, a coalition of “harm reduction” advocates, including the NC Council of Churches, sent out a press release denouncing the bill.
“Amid State’s Worsening Overdose Crisis, Harm Reduction Advocates Argue SB189 Will Fuel Deaths and Systemic Racism,” the statement begins.
To back the claim that arresting fentanyl dealers will increase overdose deaths, the harm reducers say, “Prosecuting dealers disrupts the drug supply, leading to more preventable overdose deaths.”
This, clearly, ignores the fact that fentanyl dealing is already highly illegal, so supplies are already disrupted when they are arrested. Increasing the fines and penalties on dealers isn’t going to make much difference on that front. But it might act as a deterrent and reduce supply.
The study they cite, from NC State, looked at Haywood County after the original death-by-distribution law was implemented. Either those sending the press release didn’t read it, or they hoped the reader wouldn’t. But the study found the impact of the law was actually a lowering of overdose risk (because dealers lowered potency to avoid the serious charge) in the short term. The study did say there was a possibility of a greater risk in the longer term, but they were unsure, so their biggest takeaway was, “Our study demonstrates most conclusively that further research on the individual and community-level impacts of DIH laws is urgently needed.”
Harm-reduction proponents are fond of calling all their claims “evidence based,” but I’ve found their evidence to be paper thin, like this claim that “prosecuting dealers lead[s] to more deaths” with the study saying mostly the opposite as proof.
After presenting their weak evidence, they go on to demand action based on it: “It is time for lawmakers to recognize the failings of the Drug War, and come to the realization that we cannot punish our way out of the overdose crisis.”