August 2025 - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

A Florida man faces a felony death by distribution charge after allegedly providing drugs that led to a Stantonsburg man’s death in May 2024, Wilson police announced.

Jamel Lamar Neal, 41, of Orlando was charged in the death of Jerrian Maushan Poole, 22, of Stantonsburg, according to a statement from Sgt, Eric McInerny, public information officer with the Wilson Police Department.

McInerny said that at 5:19 p.m. on May 19, 2024, officers responded to a residence on Lear Court after a report of an overdose.

“Upon arrival, officers located two individuals, including Poole, who were unconscious and not breathing,” McInerny said. He said Wilson County EMS was on the scene and pronounced Poole deceased.

According to the warrant, the substance Neal is accused of distributing is fentanyl.

McInerny said that the second individual was taken to Wilson Medical Center, where they were later released.

“Through the course of the investigation, it was determined that Poole’s death was the result of multiple drug intoxication,” McInerny said. “Investigators identified Neal as the individual who provided the narcotics to Poole. Based on the findings, a warrant was obtained for Neal on one count of felony death by distribution.”

McInerny said that on Aug. 18, Neal was located in Seminole County, Florida.

Neal was taken into custody and subsequently extradited to Wilson.

Neal was placed in the Wilson County Detention Center with a $75,000 secured bond. He remained incarcerated as of Thursday morning.

Police ask anyone with information about the case to call the Wilson Police Department at 252-399-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 252-243-2255.

Rutherford County’s 2025 death by distribution convictions jump to 5 with 2 more in August

Read the original article on the ABC13News website.

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Rutherford County’s death by distribution convictions for the year have now jumped to five after the latest two convictions in August.

According to an Aug. 26 social media post by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, Nathan Carpenter Beason pleaded guilty to two counts of death by distribution in Rutherford County Superior Court on Aug. 25. The sheriff’s office’s post reported that a week earlier on Aug. 18, Evelyn Robertson pleaded guilty to one count of death by distribution, and it was in connection with the same investigation.

Beason was sentenced to a minimum term of 11 years and maximum of 14 years in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections. Robertson is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date, the post said.

According to court records, one of Beason’s charges originated from a March 2022 incident investigated by the sheriff’s office after deputies responded to a fatal overdose. Warrants were ultimately secured on Oct. 17, 2022.

Records show the second charge stemmed from a separate investigation initiated by the Rutherfordton Police Department in 2020. Warrants were secured on Beason by the police on Dec. 30, 2024.

Investigators from both agencies demonstrated dedication and persistence in thoroughly investigating these cases, ultimately leading to the charges filed against Beason.

“The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office extends its sincere appreciation to the Rutherfordton Police Department for their diligence and work in their case against Beason. The Sheriff’s Office would also like to thank the District Attorney’s Office for its commitment and hard work in prosecuting these complex cases,” the post said.

The fake pill trade hasn’t gone away

The Partnership for Safe Medicines has updated their handout which explains what a pill press is and how fake pills are made.

This easy to understand handout can be used to educate people about the risks of counterfeit pills.

Two Defendants Sentenced in Death by Distribution Cases

Defendant in death by distribution case charged with fentanyl possession

Two men charged in separate death by distribution cases: High Point Police

Read the original article on the WFMY News2 website.

HIGH POINT, N.C. — Two men have been arrested and charged by High Point police in separate death by distribution cases recently, HPPD said.

Tyler S. Hazelwood, 34, was arrested for the 2024 drug overdose that killed a 29-year-old man, according to police.

Hazelwood was charged with felony death by distribution and felony possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver a schedule II controlled substance.

He is being held on a $500,000 bond.

In a separate case, police arrested Abdullah Kindle, 38, for another overdose that killed a 29-year-old man, police said.

Police said officers delivered naloxone to the victim and tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.

Kindle was charged with felony death by distribution and felony possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver a schedule II controlled substance.

He is being held on a $2 million bond.

2 charged in connection with fatal overdoses in High Point, police say

Read the original article on the Fox8 News website.

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — Two men have been arrested and charged in two separate death by distribution cases, according to the High Point Police Department.

On Thursday, Tyler Shane Hazelwood, 34, of Rural Hall, was arrested in connection with the January 2024 fatal drug overdose of a 29-year-old man found dead inside a home on Middlewood Court.

Hazelwood was charged with felony death by distribution and possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver schedule II controlled substance. His bond was set at $500,000.

In June, Abdullah Kindle, 38, of High Point, was arrested in connection with a separate death by distribution case regarding the fatal overdose of a 29-year-old man at a home on East Green Drive. Kindle was arrested on July 28.

Kindle remains in the Guilford County Jail with a $2 million bond.