March 2025 - Page 2 of 2 - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

Durham Tech instructor indicted on death by distribution charge, records show

Read the original article on the CBS17 News website.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — A philosophy instructor at Durham Technical Community College was arrested Monday in connection with a deadly overdose in Chapel Hill last December, court records show.

Aaron Donald Brooks, 40, of Durham was indicted in Orange County Court on a death by distribution through unlawful sale of a controlled substance. He is also charged with felony possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, selling/delivering a Schedule I controlled substance, and possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver a Schedule I controlled substance, according to court records.

Court records show Brooks is accused of selling fentanyl to a woman on Dec. 28, leading to her death. The Chapel Hill Police Department filed the warrant for his arrest.

According to court records, Brooks was not given bond. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Orange County Court on Monday.

Brooks was previously arrested on drug charges in Durham County on Dec. 11. The Durham County Sheriff’s Office filed the warrants for his arrest. He posted a $25,000 secured bond the following day prior to his arrest on drug charges in Orange County, according to court records.

In connection with a Durham County incident on Nov. 21, according to court records, Brooks is charged with delivering methamphetamine (two counts), selling methamphetamine (two counts), possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver methamphetamine, trafficking in methamphetamine, and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Court records show Brooks is charged with manufacturing/selling/delivering a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a park and maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, in connection with a Durham County incident on Dec. 11.

Brooks’ next appearance in Durham County Court on these charges is scheduled for March 10, according to court records.

According to the Duke University website, Brooks is an instructor of philosophy at Durham Tech.

Brooks’ LinkedIn says he joined Durham Tech in August 2019 and has taught at the school for over five years. Prior to Durham Tech, he was a tutor at the Duke University Athletic Department in 2013 and a chaplain at the Duke University Health System from 2013 to 2014. He holds a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School.

According to Durham Tech, Brooks has been on administrative leave since his arrest in December. He has not been allowed on campus or to contact employees or students.

School officials said they are exploring their next steps with the advice of legal counsel.

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office has indicated none of Brooks’ charges are related to Durham Tech, according to the school.

Lenoir woman jailed under $500K bond, charged with death by distribution

Read the original article no the WSOC TV9 website.

LENOIR, N.C. — A woman has been accused of giving a deadly dose of fentanyl to a woman in Concord.

Last February, Hayli White was found along Misty Wood Lane, but police believe the drugs were sold to her in Caldwell County.

“Still shock and disbelief,” said White’s stepfather, Dustin Carswell. “You expect to see her come through the door at night, and she doesn’t. It just doesn’t seem real still.”

The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said they originally arrested Jessica McMahon four days after White’s death.

Deputies told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that they seized fentanyl and other narcotics concealed in a hide-a-can they believe she purchased online that looks like a bleach and carpet cleaner bottle.

At the time, McMahon was charged with trafficking, but deputies said they were unaware of White’s death in Concord.

The Concord Police Department alerted them to the death ten days later after finding text messages in White’s phone.

Caldwell County Sheriff Kevin Bean said one of his top priorities since taking office last August is stopping the sale of fentanyl and other drugs and preventing tragedies like White’s.

“It’s my belief that if drug dealers sell this poison to our children and family members and a death occurs, they should be charged with first-degree murder and sent away for life,” Bean elaborated.

White’s family said they hoped the arrest would prevent another senseless death, and they believe by speaking out they’ll possibly help someone else.

“We understand that it’s not going to bring Hayli back, and we just don’t want other families to go through what we have during the past year,” said Carswell.

“It’s not uncommon, you know. And you just don’t think it’s going to happen to you or your family,” said White’s sister, Makenzie Kepler.

McMahon was arrested again on Monday in connection with this incident. She has been charged with death by distribution and is being held in jail under a $500,000 bond, sheriff’s deputies said.

Overdose deaths surge in Mecklenburg County

From 2019 through 2023, overdose deaths rose fastest among Black and Hispanic residents. County health officials said that in many instances, people died after using street drugs laced with fentanyl.

Read the original article on the QCityMetro website.

Fatal overdoses surged among Black and Hispanic residents in Mecklenburg County from 2019 through 2023, according to county data released on Thursday.

For each of the two groups, the drug-related death rate increased by 200% during that five-year window. For the county’s white population, the rate of fatal overdoses rose 14%.

Mecklenburg Health Director Raynard Washington called the trend “alarming.”

“These numbers are a stark reminder that the opioid epidemic is impacting every group in our community,” he said in a public statement on Thursday.

Why it matters: Despite a slight nationwide decline in recent years, drug overdoses remain the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2023, more than 100,000 people died as a result of drug overdosing in the United States. Mecklenburg County recorded 356 overdose deaths in 2023, the last year for which county data were available.

What’s driving the surge?

In an interview with QCity Metro, Washington blamed the rise in overdose deaths on opioids and fentanyl, a synthetic drug that can be lethal in tiny doses. In many instances, he said, fentanyl is mixed with street drugs such as cocaine and counterfeit pills such as Adderall, Oxycodone and Percocet.

“Our illicit drugs are mostly tainted with substances that could kill you, and it doesn’t take multiple uses,” Washington said. “It takes one use.”

Washington said people share illegal pills, believing they are safe. “It’s best to get those from a pharmacist with a doctor’s prescription and not from a friend, a family member or someone in the community,” he said.

Dr. Thomas Owens, the Mecklenburg County medical examiner, said: “Almost every day we see the devastating burden of fentanyl in our community.”

What do the numbers tell us?

When it comes to race, Mecklenburg County has seen a seismic shift in overdose deaths.

As recently as 2019, white residents made up the bulk of Mecklenburg’s overdose deaths. In recent years, however, Black and Hispanic communities have seen the fastest growth rates for overdose deaths. (The death rate continues to grow for white residents as well.)

In 2019, for example, Black residents in Mecklenburg County died from overdosing at a rate of 14.99 people for every 100,000 Black residents. But just five years later, that number had surged to 44.34 overdose deaths for every 100,000 Black residents.

In his interview with QCity Metro, Washington said men accounted for a disproportionate number of overdose deaths in Mecklenburg County. Preliminary data for January showed that more than 65% of suspected fatal deaths in the county were male.