Month: April 2026

Hampstead man accused of providing fentanyl that killed 18-year-old woman

HAMPSTEAD, N.C. (WECT) – A Hampstead man was arrested in March following the death of an 18-year-old woman from a suspected fentanyl overdose, according to the Pender County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO).

Daniel Blaine Joye was arrested for death by distribution on March 12 after he allegedly delivered fentanyl that resulted in a fatal overdose.

Daniel Blaine Joye(Pender County Sheriff’s Office)

According to PCSO and available search warrants, deputies and EMS personnel responded to a residence on Mullein Drive in Hampstead on Feb. 27 after receiving a 911 call about an unconscious woman. The victim was identified as Shelby Slye of Hampstead.

A witness told dispatch she saw a man dragging a woman toward a car. The witness, a nursing student, began CPR on Slye.

Warrants state Joye told deputies he found Slye unresponsive but breathing and tried to get her into a car to take her to the hospital. He said he noticed blue discoloration around her lips and shallow breathing. Slye was transported to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, where she was pronounced dead on Feb. 28.

Warrants also state Joye allegedly told deputies at the scene that Slye had a history of narcotics abuse and had consumed a fifth of liquor during the day. However, hospital employees later told detectives Slye’s toxicology report showed no signs of alcohol use, according to records.

Detectives served a search warrant at the Mullein Drive residence on March 1. During the search, Joye was found in possession of fentanyl and was arrested. The fentanyl was packaged in wax paper bindles stamped “We The Best.”

A second search warrant led to the seizure of additional fentanyl packaged in the same bindles, empty bindles with the same stamp, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and cell phones belonging to Joye and Slye, according to records.

The warrant states a woman at the residence told detectives Joye routinely purchases fentanyl and other narcotics and provided fentanyl to Slye on a regular basis. Records state the woman said she believed Joye was Slye’s source of illegal narcotics.

Detectives attended Slye’s autopsy on March 3 at Onslow Memorial Hospital. The search warrant states presumptive fentanyl urine test showed a positive indication of fentanyl in Slye’s urine.

On March 12, detectives secured additional charges against Joye related to the overdose death. Joye faces the following charges:

  • Felony death by distribution
  • Possess with intent to manufacture, sell, deliver Schedule II (three counts)
  • Deliver Schedule II controlled substance
  • Possession of Schedule II
  • Maintain vehicle, dwelling, place, controlled substance
  • Possession of drug paraphernalia (two counts)

Joye appeared in court on March 13. He was appointed a public defender and his bond was set at $125,000.

2 arrested in Lee County after drugs, gun found during traffic stop with kids inside car

Read the original article on the WRAL News website.

Deputies arrested Zachary Robert Shaw, 41, and Lakayla Chasity Davis, 28, during a traffic stop on Tuesday. Their arrest comes as deputies said narcotics agents were investigating citizen drug complaints on Deep River Road during the time of the traffic stop.

Zachary Shaw and Lakayla Davis face charges.

Two people were arrested in Lee County after deputies found drugs and a gun inside a car with three children in it during a traffic stop on Tuesday on Hawkins Avenue.

Deputies said narcotics agents were investigating citizen drug complaints on Deep River Road during the time of the traffic stop.

uring the stop, deputies said they found methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a gun in possession of a felon. Three children were also inside the car during the stop, deputies said.

Deputies arrested the two occupants in the car, Zachary Robert Shaw, 41, and Lakayla Chasity Davis, 28.

Shaw is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and is being held without bond.

Davis is charged with felony possession of a schedule II-controlled substance, three counts of exposing a child to a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana up to half an ounce. She is being held on a $31,000 secured bond.

Deputies said both Shaw and Davis also had outstanding warrants for arrest out of Chatham County for larceny.

North Carolina’s backlogged autopsies delaying justice, prosecutors say

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

Despite funding increases and legislative support, North Carolina’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner remains backlogged due to a national shortage of pathologists and a surge in subpoenas requiring experts to testify in person.

Getting an autopsy report in North Carolina after someone dies can take months. Despite recent funding for the medical examiner’s office, prosecutors say the backlog of autopsies is slowing down justice.

Simply put, the state’s medical examiner’s office is overloaded. A huge influx in funding helped. But what’s straining the system isn’t the caseload now, it’s the courts.

Dorleen Richardson is waiting for an autopsy on her husband, Antony, who was killed by Johnston County deputies on Jan. 25 following a mental health crisis. Her garage is still riddled with bullet holes, reminding her of the day he died.

“His feet were there, and his body was there,” Richardson said pointing to the floor of her garage.

Continue reading “North Carolina’s backlogged autopsies delaying justice, prosecutors say”

Drug dealer linked to fentanyl OD death gets 10+ years in prison after Raleigh, Franklin County raids, Feds say

Read the original article on the CBS17 News website.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A “prolific” Franklin County fentanyl dealer who was linked to a drug death and fentanyl marketed to children was sentenced to at least 10 years in federal prison this week, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Ahmod Talley was arrested in June 2025 after he was pulled over and found with “perversely labeled” fentanyl with terms like “Try This” and “Life Support,” a U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina news release said.

Ahmod Maliq Talley (inset) in a photo from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Franklin County Sheriff’s Office file photo by CBS 17

Talley sold fentanyl to the overdose victim just three days before the death, and the “Try This” stamped fentanyl was also found at the overdose death scene, the news release said.

Later, Raleigh and Franklinton raids of Talley’s home and his grandmother’s house led to the discovery of guns and fentanyl “marketed at children” stamped “Goosebumps,” prosecutors said.

“This sentence sends a message, understand clearly: when you sell deadly poison to our kids and families just to make a little bit of money, you will pay serious consequences,” U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said in the news release.

In addition to fentanyl, prosecutors said raids of homes in Raleigh and Franklinton discovered cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.

A federal order along with Talley’s conviction also said officials would seize guns, including:

  • Glock 23 pistol
  • Kahr P380 pistol
  • Delton 5.56 rifle
  • All ammo associated with each firearm

Talley’s guns and drugs were found in homes in Franklinton and Raleigh in mid-January 2025, according to an order of forfeiture in a plea deal with the prosecution.

As part of a plea agreement, officials said Talley pleaded guilty to:

  • conspiracy to sell and possess with the intent to sell heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine
  • possession with intent to sell heroin and fentanyl
  • possession with intent to sell cocaine
  • two counts of possession of a gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

“This prolific drug dealer earned every day of his prison sentence, and the residents of Eastern North Carolina will be safer while he’s locked up,” Boyle said in the release.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations worked on the investigation into Talley, the news release said.

Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II sentenced Talley in the case on Tuesday. Court officials recommended that Talley serve time at the Federal Prison in Butner.

Franklin County Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison

Read the original article on the US Justice Department website.

Ahmod Talley

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced Ahmod Talley to over 10 years in federal prison for selling fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Franklin County.  On January 14, 2026, Inmate Talley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell and possess with the intent to sell heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, possession with intent to sell heroin and fentanyl, possession with intent to sell cocaine, and two counts of possession of a gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

“We recognize the devastating impact drug addiction and overdoses have on families in our communities. This sentence sends a message, understand clearly: when you sell deadly poison to our kids and families just to make a little bit of money, you will pay serious consequences. Dope dealers lose their freedom for decades. This prolific drug dealer earned every day of his prison sentence, and the residents of Eastern North Carolina will be safer while he’s locked up. Simple Lesson: Drugs Kill, Prison Awaits – Do Right.” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.

The investigation into Inmate Talley’s drug dealing started after a fatal drug overdose in Franklin County. Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated and determined that Inmate Talley sold fentanyl to the victim three days before the death. Ultimately, law enforcement pulled Inmate Talley over, and found a loaded .40 caliber handgun, bindles of fentanyl labeled “Try This” (like the ones found in the overdose victim’s house) and bindles perversely labeled “Life Support.”  Law enforcement searched Inmate Talley’s house, finding a .380 caliber pistol, cocaine, and marijuana. They also searched Inmate Talley’s grandmother’s house, where they found a rifle and 350 bindles of a heroin and fentanyl mix stamped “Life Support” and, apparently marketed at children, “Goosebumps.”

“Today’s sentence underscores the power of coordinated law enforcement efforts to hold drug dealers accountable when their actions cost someone their life,” said Mark M. Zito, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Charlotte. “Through the combined work of the FCSO, HSI, and our partners in the Eastern District of North Carolina, HSI remains committed to targeting those who distribute lethal fentanyl and other narcotics in our communities at the expense of public safety.”

Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II.  FCSO and HSI investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Casey L. Peaden prosecuted the case.

Deputies: Lee County couple accused of selling fentanyl with child present

Read the original article on the WRAL News website.

Felipe Jaimes Jr. and Leemary Davila Rosado

Two people from Lee County were arrested Thursday after being accused of selling fentanyl with a child present, deputies said.

Lee County deputies said an investigation found that 32-year-old Felipe Jaimes Jr. and 39-year-old Leemary Davila Rosado were working together to sell and deliver fentanyl in Lee County. 

According to deputies, the pair had their child present with them while they were delivering the drugs. 

The two were each charged with:

  • 4 counts of trafficking fentanyl
  • 3 counts possession with intent to sell and deliver fentanyl
  • 3 counts of exposing child to controlled substnace
  • 2 counts of felony conspiracy
  • 3 counts of possession of drug paraphernalia

During their first court appearances, both Jaimes and Rosado were given a $2 million bond each. 

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