Category: Breaking News

Families Sue Snapchat Over Drug Dealing: An Overview

On October 13, 2022 the Social Media Victims Law Center and C.A. Goldberg, PLLC  filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Snap, Inc. on behalf of the families of Alexander Neville, Daniel Puerta, Jeff Johnston, Jr., Dylan Kai Sarantos, Devin Norring, Jack McCarthy, Alexandra Capelouto, and Daniel (Elijah) Figueroa. These teenagers and young adults are eight among hundreds who have died after taking pills purchased from drug dealers operating on Snapchat.

Also included in the suit are the parents of a 16-year-old who survived fentanyl pill poisoning and continues to use the app.

More details can be found on the Parternership for Safe Medicines web site.

Widow and mother of late MLB pitcher Tyler Skaggs speak out against fentanyl

For the first time on camera, the widow of Tyler Skaggs and his mother are sharing their story of loss after the 2019 death of the Los Angeles Angels pitcher. Skaggs was just 27 years old when he was found dead in his hotel room after taking fentanyl-laced oxycodone on the road with his team.

Over three years after Tyler Skaggs’ death, his wife, Carli Skaggs, and mother, Debbie Hetman, spoke to ABC News about what justice looks like to their family.

Read the full article on the Good Morning America web site.

Man charged from Hillsborough woman’s opioid overdose

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — A man was arrested in connection with an opioid overdose in May.

Walter Wrenn of Efland was arrested on a charge of felony death by distribution on Friday.

Wrenn, 36, was already incarcerated in the Orange County Jail for unrelated charges. Wrenn is being held under a $100,000 secured bond.

Read the full story on the WRAL 5 web site.

DEA: 36 million lethal doses of fentanyl removed from U.S. communities from May to September

(The Center Square) – As a result of law enforcement operations from May through September of this year, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and law enforcement partners confiscated 36 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill 36 million Americans.

As part of the DEA’s One Pill Can Kill initiative, DEA agents and law enforcement partners in multiple states seized more than 10.2 million fentanyl pills and approximately 980 pounds of fentanyl powder.

Their operations took place between May 23 and Sept. 8, 2022. The operations saved the lives of at least 36 million people who might otherwise have been subjected to the lethal doses, the DEA estimates. Also during the operation, law enforcement officers confiscated 338 weapons, including rifles, shotguns, pistols, and hand grenades.

Of the 390 cases investigated during this period, 51 cases were linked to overdose poisonings; 35 cases directly linked to one or both of the primary Mexican cartels responsible for the majority of fentanyl in the United States: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Read the full article on The Center Square web site.

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Onslow County Sheriff’s Office seizes five pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill thousands

The lives of thousands of Onslow County residents have now been saved with the seizure of about five pounds of fentanyl.

The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for a domestic-related incident at Eider Loop Road in Jacksonville on Sept. 20, according to a recent news release. Upon executing a search warrant, investigators located 2.5 kilos of fentanyl, over 40 pounds of marijuana, two rifles, three handguns and about $10,000.

OCSO Chief Deputy Colonel Chris Thomas said in an email that the amount of fentanyl seized could have easily killed thousands of Onslow County residents, though it’s hard to estimate as it depends on the dosage an individual would use and how it is cut. He added a dosage unit is about .01 grams and a kilogram has 1,000 grams.

Read the full article on the Jacksonville Daily News web site or on Yahoo!

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Snapchat Sued By Temecula Family And Others Who Lost Kids To Fentanyl

TEMECULA, CA — Santa Monica-based Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, is being sued by families — including one in Temecula — who lost children to fake “medications” containing fentanyl. The deadly drug was peddled to their kids using the popular instant messaging app and the company did nothing to stop it, the suit alleges.

Read full article on Patch.com.

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Lincolnton Woman Indicted in Connection to Fatal Overdose in Maiden

23-year-old Madison Dare Winslow of River Meadows Court in Lincolnton was arrested by Maiden Police on September 21 on multiple felony controlled substance charges. Winslow was served with indictments for death by distribution, four counts of conspiracy to traffic in opium or heroin, possession of a schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver, and maintaining a vehicle, dwelling, or place for a controlled substance. She was also charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Lincolnton Police assisted in the arrest.

Read the full article on the WHKY web site.

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Substance use disorder stigma impacts individuals, families

Lori Ashenfelder, whose son died last year from fentanyl, said substance use and its impact on a family are very difficult to talk about.

“You tend to stay isolated, a lot more than you normally would,” she said. “For me, it was a lot about staying in the shadows, staying in the background, don’t talk about it.”

Last Thursday, the CARE Coalition of Transylvania County hosted“Transylvania CARES: Stories of Addiction and Hope” at the library to share the many unexpected ways substance use disorder stigma impacts the lives of individuals and their families.

Read the full article on the Transylvania Times web site.

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Robeson County mother charged after 3-year-old son died of fentanyl overdose

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WMBF) – A North Carolina woman has been arrested in connection to her three-year-old son’s death.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said 32-year-old Ana Latoria Jones is charged with second-degree murder and felony child abuse after her son died of a fentanyl overdose earlier this year. She was arrested Wednesday.

Read the full article on the WMBF web site. Additional coverage can be found in the Charlotte Observer article.

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