Strother Murray-Ndinga talks about her stepson Serguei “Dolys” Ndinga Momo, who died from a drug overdose, as Jerimiah Hargrove (seated, at left), the man charged with selling him the drugs, listens in an Orange County court.
What started as a night of partying in 2023 ended with a prison sentence Tuesday for the man accused of selling the pills that killed his friend in a Carrboro home.
Jerimiah Hargrove, 22, of Raleigh, was scheduled to have his death by distribution case heard by an Orange County jury this week, but he chose Tuesday to accept an Alford plea instead.
That means Hargrove did not legally admit responsibility for the June 27, 2023, death of 21-year-old Serguei “Dolys” Ndinga Momo, but that he thought a jury would have found him guilty.
Superior Court Judge Stephanie Reese sentenced Hargrove to four to six years in prison, and also ordered him to get psychological and substance abuse treatment. He will also get educational and vocational training and be eligible for work release.
A second charge of selling a Schedule II controlled substance was dismissed Monday, court records show.
Reese warned Hargrove to take advantage of the programs available to him and to avoid alcohol and other substances in the future. Defense attorney Patrick Morgan told the court that Hargrove attended Johnston County Community College and worked several jobs before successfully completing most of a 12-month vocational training program in 2024.
Hargrove was kicked out of the Hope Center program after a relapse, but could return in the future, he said.
What led to Ndinga Momo’s death
Hargrove, Ndinga Momo, Hargrove’s girlfriend and another man were drinking together at the victim’s house in Carrboro after midnight on June 27 when Hargrove got out some “Perc 30s” — a pressed pill that included the prescription painkiller Percocet and fentanyl, Orange County Assistant District Attorney Anna Orr said.
A Selma man will spend at least eight years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to selling a teenager the drugs that killed her.
Isaiah Lathomas DaPaul Watson, 27, was charged with death by distribution in the August 2025 death of Alesha Meshaw, 19, of Four Oaks, The News & Observer previously reported.
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock sentenced Watson to a minimum of eight years and maximum of 10 years and eight months in prison, the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Meshaw was found dead at a friend’s home after overdosing on counterfeit oxycodone pills, The N&O reported in October. The state crime lab found the pills actually contained fentanyl; carfentanil, a synthetic opioid “much more potent than fentanyl”; and ANPP, “a direct precursor to fentanyl and acetylfentanyl,” according to search warrants in the case.
Meshaw’s autopsy found she died from a fentanyl and carfentanil overdose. Her death was ruled an accident.
Meshaw’s boyfriend told police she’d struggled with substance use, and investigators found texts on her phone indicating she’d met with Watson the day before her death to buy $50 of “blues,” according to search warrants.
Watson was arrested in Roanoke, Virginia, last September after hiding out at his girlfriend’s house, search warrants show. He’d previously served time in prison in a 2020 home invasion in Johnston County and also had pending charges there at the time of Meshaw’s death, court records indicate.
Johnston County District Attorney Jason Waller said in the release he was grateful for law enforcement’s work to seek justice for Meshaw.
“Death by distribution cases present unique challenges for prosecution,” Waller said in the email. “The most important witness to the drug transaction is no longer with us, and other witnesses involved in this type of crime are often reluctant to cooperate.”
Meshaw, also known as “Meme” by loved ones, was described by family members in a GoFundMe as a “bright soul [who] never let anything get her down.”
“Our heart goes out to Aleisha’s [sic] family, and I hope this outcome will help them find solace,” said Assistant District Attorney Keith Gordon, who prosecuted the case, in the release. “Aleisha [sic] was a very young woman, loved by many, whose life was lost to a senseless act of greed.”
A Johnston County man is facing multiple charges in a woman’s fatal overdose at a Four Oaks home this summer.
A Johnston County man has been charged with death by distribution in a woman’s fatal overdose this summer.
Isaiah Lathomas Dapaul Watson, 26, is accused of selling $50 of pills containing fentanyl to Alesha Nicole Meshaw, 19, who was found dead in the early morning hours of Aug. 17 at a friend’s residence in Four Oaks, according to search warrants in the case.
A warrant for his arrest was issued Sept. 12, and Watson was taken into custody at his girlfriend’s home in Roanoke, Virginia, two days later, court documents state.
Watson, of Selma, is also charged with selling a Schedule II controlled substance, delivering a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of a Schedule II substance with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute, court records show.
Hours before Meshaw’s death, she reportedly complained of intense leg pain to the friend she was staying with, warrants state. The friend called her boyfriend to help move Meshaw off the bathroom floor, the warrants state. The News & Observer is not naming any of the other involved parties because they have not been charged with a crime in Meshaw’s death.
After moving Meshaw to a bedroom, the friend told police that Meshaw appeared to be sleeping, but when she checked on her later, Meshaw was “unresponsive,” according to the warrants. When the woman touched Meshaw’s hand, it felt cold, prompting her to call police about 2:15 a.m.
Meshaw’s boyfriend gave police her cellphone, which he said he’d retrieved from the home shortly before law enforcement arrived, the warrants state. It’s not clear why he took Meshaw’s phone from the scene. Police also found a container of eight blue pills at the scene; Meshaw’s friend reported finding the drugs in Meshaw’s purse, according to the warrants.
“[The friend] suspected Meshaw was high because in the past she knew Meshaw used Percocet without a prescription,” the warrants state. “Instead of Percocet, she located these blue pills and placed them into a container to show her mom and dispose of them later.”
Meshaw’s boyfriend told police she struggled with substance use. Text messages on her phone showed texts between Meshaw and Watson arranging to purchase “blues” about 3:15 p.m. the day before her death, search warrants allege.
An analysis from the state crime laboratory found the pills contained carfentanil, a synthetic opioid “much more potent than fentanyl”; fentanyl; and ANPP, “a direct precursor to fentanyl and acetylfentanyl,” search warrants say. A detective described the combination as commonly leading to overdoses.
The pills Meshaw allegedly purchased were meant to imitate oxycodone, a commonly prescribed type of pain pill, according to search warrants. Counterfeit pills like the ones found at the scene actually contain fentanyl, which is much more potent.
A postmortem urine test showed Meshaw tested positive for fentanyl and marijuana, search warrants state.
A grand jury indicted Watson on Sept. 22 on the charges tied to Meshaw’s death, court records show. He remained in the Johnston County jail as of Friday morning with bail set at $5 million secured.
A GoFundMe for Meshaw’s family had raised $1,047 of its $3,000 goal as of Friday morning. The fundraiser described Meshaw, also known as “Meme,” as a “bright soul [who] never let anything get her down.”
Suspect faced unrelated charges
At the time of Watson’s arrest, he already was facing multiple pending charges in unrelated cases, including a Dec. 2 charge of possession of a firearm by a felon and Oct. 15, 2024, charges of fleeing/eluding arrest with a motor vehicle, resisting a public officer, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and simple possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance, court records show.
He was out on $50,000 secured bond at the time of Meshaw’s death.
Watson was previously convicted of first-degree burglary, robbery with a dangerous weapon and second-degree kidnapping in October 2020 in Johnston County. He was released from prison Sept. 14, 2023, state records show.
The charge, death by distribution, is relatively new to the North Carolina court system.
The law has been in effect since 2019, making it relatively new when it comes to a legal sense, and it’s being used all across the state.
Law professionals said it can get very complicated when trying to prosecute someone for selling a deadly dose. Since 2019, when the charge of death by distribution became law, Jeremiah Hargrove is one of seven people to ever be charged with it in Orange County. The charges came after 21-year-old Delise Ndinga Momo died of an overdose.
“If it saves one life, it’s worth it,” said retired judge Carl Fox.
Fox said it has its difficulties in getting through the court.
“You have a little bit of difficulty because the main person you need is deceased,” Fox said.
Fox says to get a conviction there needs to be hard evidence of the sale.
“They are, by their very nature, difficult cases,” Fox said.
Hargrove’s trial is just beginning. The prosecutors will lay out their evidence over the course of the trial’s early days. Court records said he sold indigamomo fentanyl in 2023, less than a week after his 21st birthday.
Family members remembering him as a handsome, talented, strong and generous person according to the GoFundMe they created back then. He’s one of the more than 23,000 North Carolinians to die from an opioid overdose since the death by distribution law was created. In that same time frame, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network, nearly 400 people have been charged in relation to selling the drugs that caused those deaths.
You have to say that it’s accomplishing something, and there should be risks involved for people out there dealing dangerous addictive drugs, because that’s the kind of thing that can kill people,” Fox said.
If Hargrove is found guilty, he faces up to five to six years in prison. That trial is expected to continue throughout the week.
Winter brought Nicole Holliday’s mother back into her life, but spring took her just as quickly.
A little over a year ago, Holliday was working from her Wake Forest home when her grandmother called with the news.
“Nicole, they found your mom dead,” she said.
“I remember hanging up the phone and just screaming,” Holliday, 31, told The News & Observer. “I was just screaming, like, ‘God, why? Why now?’”
Victoria Benhoff, 52, wouldn’t get the Easter visit from Holliday and her grandchildren she’d been looking forward to. The animal lover whose smile brought warmth to any room, even as she battled an addiction that began as a teenager, was gone. Her sister discovered her dead from a fentanyl overdose in their Wilmington-area home March 27, 2025.
The substance use that marred Benhoff’s life for decades had taken it, just when Holliday believed her mother was finally sober. The grief was staggering, but Holliday’s pain only compounded as the financial realities of her mother’s unexpected death became clear.
“My mom’s funeral, with cremation and everything, was right at $7,000,” Holliday said.
In a typical homicide case in North Carolina, the victim’s loved ones would be eligible for up to $10,000 in funerary and burial reimbursement through the state’s victims compensation fund. But even though someone had been criminally charged with death by distribution in Benhoff’s death, Benhoff wasn’t considered a victim because she’d chosen to take fentanyl the night she died.
Holliday learned of this rule from the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office, which was prosecuting Benhoff’s alleged dealer, in the months after her mother’s death.
“[Assistant District Attorney] Sean Spiering’s office, they said in fentanyl deaths — well, really just drug deaths in general — they do not generally ask the court to cover payment for that because apparently, in North Carolina, fentanyl death is not considered murder,” Holliday recounted.
The resulting gray area, where Holliday’s mother is both a victim and not a victim, is something Holliday struggles with.
“I don’t understand how someone can sell someone a drug that inevitably killed them, and that’s not murder,” Holliday said.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Fentanyl Awareness Day is being observed Wednesday with new data showing a decline in fentanyl-related deaths — and overall overdose deaths — across North Carolina.
An update from the NCDHHS shows overall overdose deaths in the state fell by 34% between 2023 and 2024, the first decline since 2019. Fentanyl-related deaths peaked at just over 3,300 in 2022 and have declined to fewer than 1,500 last year, according to state data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Advocates say the progress is a good sign — but they’re clear the fentanyl crisis is far from over.
“We now have over 20,000 fentanyl victims in North Carolina, and the families, the victims families have said enough,” Barb Walsh of Cary said.
Walsh lost her daughter, Sophia, to fentanyl in August 2021. Since then, she’s worked with lawmakers to push for changes and founded the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina to help families navigating similar losses.
“So the deaths are still occurring and it may be less, but those families will not take any comfort in knowing that their loved one was not saved,” Walsh said.
That decline in fentanyl-related deaths is part of a broader drop in overdose deaths across the state. According to NCDHHS, overdose deaths involving all drugs fell from more than 4,400 in 2023 to fewer than 3,000 in 2024.
Walsh credited the progress in part to expanded access to naloxone, a drug used to reverse overdoses, and increased public awareness.
“They’re saying the word fentanyl out loud. They’re talking about the life naloxone. They’re elevating the public discussion about naloxone and fentanyl victims. Deaths More importantly, it is treating the victims and their families with dignity and respect,” she said.
Despite the improvement, Walsh said continued efforts are critical.
“It is not time yet to stop talking about trying to save lives together. The work the government is doing, the opioid settlement funds, law enforcement, district attorney’s harm reduction groups, public health, the families who have started nonprofits, all of you, all of us are needed in order to save lives,” she said.
State officials say counties showing the most progress are those using funds from a $1.4 billion opioid settlement, which requires adherence to specific guidelines and reporting standards to access the money.
While the latest data shows a significant decline, advocates say continued coordination across agencies and communities will be key to sustaining the progress.
North Carolina saw infant mortality hit a record low and overdose deaths fall 34% in 2024, driven by Medicaid expansion and increased naloxone distribution.
North Carolina’s infant mortality rate hit an all-time low and overdose-related deaths plummeted in 2024, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday.
A new report shows the infant mortality rate dropped 8.7% from 6.9 to 6.3 deaths per 1,000 births, with the number of deaths decreasing from 828 in 2023 to 770 in 2024. Infant mortality is traditionally defined as the death of an infant before their first birthday.
Drug overdose deaths fell 34%, from 4,442 deaths in 2023 to 2,934 deaths in 2024, the first decline in fatal overdoses since 2019.
State leaders say expanding Medicaid across North Carolina, coupled with more distribution of overdose-reversal medications, drove the nosedive in deaths. But racial disparities persist, and officials say their work isn’t finished.
“We are encouraged by the declines in overdose-related deaths and infant mortality rates in North Carolina, which coincide with recent investments in our health system,” Dr. Kelly Kimple, the director of DHHS’ Division of Public Health, wrote in the report. “However, other trends show that there is still work to be done, and our department remains committed to improving health outcomes for everyone who calls North Carolina home.”
Here’s what the report found.
Infant mortalities drop, but racial disparities persist
State officials say progress on infant mortality was driven by a nearly 15% decrease in neonatal deaths, meaning more babies are surviving “the earliest and most vulnerable” weeks of life.
And two years after North Carolina became the 41st state to expand Medicaid, state leaders say more than 700,000 patients gained access to the critical care they needed, including maternal and infant care.
“This historic decline highlights how Medicaid expansion continues to improve health outcomes for children and families in North Carolina,” the report states.
But as infant mortality rates dropped across the state, rates among non-Hispanic Black infants remained nearly three times higher than among non-Hispanic white infants, according to the report.
Of the 770 infant deaths in 2024, more than 40% were Black children, the report stated. But the mortality rate among Black infants also saw a slight decrease, dropping from 340 deaths in 2023 to 315 in 2024.
“It’s absolutely egregious that we have babies dying as a result of their race or ethnicity in a state like North Carolina where we have excellent care and community-based services,” said Dr. Dorothy Cilenti, a clinical professor at the UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Maternal and Child Health and the associate dean of public health practice. “There’s absolutely no reason.”
The report said state officials will continue to target these “unacceptable” disparities through initiatives like the “I Gave Birth” campaign — a collaboration among 48 hospitals and providers to improve postpartum care in the first six to eight weeks after childbirth — and programs for maternal mental health.
Cilenti said it’s “exciting” to see the improving data, which she said is likely due to factors like better practices in childbirth and more investment in women’s health, like a drop in smoking rates during pregnancy.
But keeping infant mortality rates low can only be done by considering the “upstream” inequities of motherhood, Cilenti said, like making a livable wage, having access to healthy food and affordable housing and helping mothers balance breastfeeding with their job — all factors that improve a family’s health.
She said there must be state-wide willingness and attention to bring the mortality rates down in order for the trend to continue.
“It has to be political will,” Cilenti said. “This has to remain a priority. There has to be a complete intolerance for preventable deaths.”
Overdose deaths decrease in 2023
The state in 2024 saw its biggest decline in overdose deaths since 2019, the report states, including a sizable decrease in opioid-related overdose deaths, which fell 38.3%, from 3,656 in 2023 to 2,254 in 2024.
These rates decreased most significantly among Hispanic and Black residents, according to the new data.
State officials attributed the drop to Medicaid expansion and prevention efforts like increased access to naloxone or NARCAN, a fast-acting medication used to reverse overdoses. In 2024, DHHS distributed more than 150,000 doses of reversal medications to organizations across the state.
“As Attorney General, I held big opioid drug companies accountable for their roles in sparking an addiction epidemic that harmed communities across the state, and we secured $1.5 billion to reinvest in those communities to help folks get the care they need while keeping drugs off the streets,” Gov. Josh Stein wrote in the report. “Medicaid expansion is also enabling more people to get the health care they need. This sharp decline in overdose-related deaths is a clear demonstration of the investments North Carolina has made to keep people safe and healthy.”
Total deaths decrease across
NC Deaths in North Carolina declined for the third year in a row after hitting a peak during the pandemic. The state reported 106,603 deaths in 2024, a roughly 1% decrease from 2023 and a steep drop from 118,040 deaths in 2021.
Deaths in the Triangle saw only slight changes in 2024, according to DHHS data. Wake County deaths decreased only nominally, but deaths increased in Orange County by about 8%, from 1,626 in 2023 to 1,769 in 2024.
In Durham County, deaths decreased by about 4%, from 3,954 in 2023 to 3,793 in 2024.
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.
An analysis of state health data shows that opioid overdose hospitalizations have decreased by more than 20% in the last year, marking two consecutive years of declining emergency department visits in North Carolina.
An analysis of state health data shows that opioid overdose hospitalizations have decreased by more than 20% in the last year, marking two consecutive years of declining emergency department visits in North Carolina.
“I’m excited to see the decreases continue,” says Tyler Yates, State Opioid Coordinator with DHHS’ Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services. “Not long after the action plan was put into play in 2017, we saw some decreases right away and then COVID happened. Overdose deaths skyrocketed.”
