Welcome to the Sunday edition of our Under the Dome newsletter, which focuses on the governor. I’m Avi Bajpai, filling in for Dawn Vaughan this week.
Gov. Josh Stein announces his 2025-27 state budget proposal during a press conference Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Albemarle Building in Raleigh. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com
The budget proposal Gov. Josh Stein unveiled last month renews his request, now for the third year in a row, for a special unit of state prosecutors and law enforcement agents focused on combating fentanyl trafficking.
Stein first called on the General Assembly to create a fentanyl control unit within the N.C. Department of Justice in February 2023. As head of the department in his role as attorney general at the time, Stein said there was a need for additional prosecutors dedicated to helping local district attorneys go after large-scale trafficking, wiretap, and overdose cases.
His first recommended budget as governor this year includes a funding request for a fentanyl control unit with attorney positions at the DOJ, and law enforcement positions at the State Bureau of Investigation.
Asked about the proposal this week, Stein told reporters that even though initial data appeared to show a downturn in overdose deaths in North Carolina last year, it remains a priority for the state to “dedicate resources to getting this poison out of our communities to the fullest extent possible.”
Ashley Lane (far right) poses for a photo with her son Ashton (from left), eldest daughter Alyssa and youngest daughter Cali.
Ashley Lane was happy being a stylist, but she also was a friend and a therapist to people who were struggling, even when her own mental health and substance abuse got the better of her, her family said.
On Monday, a Durham man was accused of selling the fentanyl that caused Lane, 39, to overdose Dec. 28 at The Graduate Hotel in downtown Chapel Hill. She died on Dec. 31 at UNC Hospitals.
Aaron Donald Brooks, 40, is charged with felony death by distribution sale, possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance, sale or delivery of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance, court records show.
He is being held in the Orange County jail under $300,000 secured bail, records show.
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.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A Wilmington man was arrested Monday in connection with a deadly overdose in Raleigh earlier this month, a warrant shows.
According to the warrant issued by the Raleigh Police Department, 23-year-old Martin Lawrence Mulkins Jr. sold fentanyl and cocaine to Jeffrey Warren on Jan. 5, which led to Warren’s death.
Mulkins is charged with death by distribution/sale, a felony offense, according to the warrant.
Court records show Mulkins received a $5,000 secured bond. He is scheduled to appear in Wake County Court on Tuesday.
Barb Walsh, Executive Director of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, fights to save lives and get justice for those killed by fentanyl poisoning. Joining Barb in the fight are Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina members Michelle Murdock and Betsy Ballard Moore.
There are two episodes being aired, Part 1 is airing January 11th, Part 2 will air one week later, January 18.
More than a year after a Carrboro man fatally overdosed, a Durham man has been accused of selling him the fentanyl that killed him, police said Tuesday.
More than a year after a Carrboro man fatally overdosed, a Durham man has been accused of selling him the fentanyl that killed him, police said Tuesday.
David Allen Bonita, 34, is charged with death by distribution in the March 29, 2023, death of Arman Guerra Imani, 32, according to a Carrboro Police Department news release. Bonita allegedly sold and delivered fentanyl to Imani, who died after injecting it, Bonita’s arrest warrant states.
Imani was found unresponsive by his mother in the bathroom of his East Winmore Avenue home shortly before 3 p.m. that day, according to an investigative report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He was last known to be alive around midnight.
Imani’s cause of death was an accidental overdose due to “acute ethanol, fentanyl, gabapentin, methadone and mitragynine toxicity,” the medical examiner’s investigative report states.
Bonita’s arrest warrant was issued on Oct. 31, but he was not arrested by members of the Carolinas Regional U.S. Marshals Task Force until Tuesday, police said. He is being held in the Orange County Detention Center on $150,000 secured bond, records show.
Fentanyl deaths, death by distribution charges in the Triangle
Bonita’s arrest mirrors another recent case in Carrboro in which Jeremiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma was charged with death by distribution in the June 27, 2023, death of Serguei Ndinga Momo, 21, The News & Observer previously reported. Momo also overdosed on fentanyl, police said.
The most recent data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services shows that as of July, there were 169 fentanyl-positive deaths throughout the state, a decrease from the 262 fentanyl-positive deaths North Carolina had seen by July 2023. In Orange County, there had been nine fentanyl-positive deaths as of Nov. 25., the department reported. That’s a decline from the 26 fentanyl-positive deaths in the county from January to August 2023, data shows.
Death by distribution charges remain relatively uncommon throughout the state and the Triangle, statewide data shows.
Throughout North Carolina, 54 death by distribution charges were filed from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, according to data obtained by The N&O from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. During that same period, no new death by distribution charges were filed in Orange or Durham counties, and only one new charge was filed in Wake County.
A born naturalist and animal lover
Imani, a graduate of East Chapel Hill High School who attended UNC-Wilmington, was described by loved ones in his obituary as “a born naturalist.” The 32-year-old animal lover was passionate about politics and social justice and enjoyed gardening, fishing, cooking and searching for edible plants in the woods, according to his obituary.
“He wanted to change the paradigm on how Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is treated in the US, allowing for a more open spectrum of treatment options,” the obituary states.
Above all, Imani’s legacy is the kindness he showed to those around him, his obituary says.
“The one enduring trait that people will remember about Arman was his kindness,” the obituary said. “In keeping with Arman’s way of life, in lieu of flowers or gifts, we ask that you convey kindness unto others, especially those who are in need.”
CARRBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — More than a year and a half after a man died from a fentanyl overdose, the person suspected of selling the drug to him has been arrested, according to police.
On Tuesday, the Carrboro Police Department announced David Allen Bonita, 33, of Durham was arrested in connection to an overdose, which happened in Carrboro on March 29, 2023. Bonita is charged with death by distribution.
The overdose victim, a 32-year-old man, was found in a home on E. Winmore Avenue in Carrboro. Police say he was deceased when officers arrived.
The victim’s autopsy found that his death was the result of a fentanyl overdose, police said. This laid the foundation for an investigation which led to the identification of Bonita as the person who “sold a qualifying controlled substance” to the victim, which was the “proximate cause” of his death.
The Carolinas Regional US Marshals Task Force arrested Bonita Tuesday. He is being held in the Orange County Detention Center and was given a $150,000 bond.
In a release shared Tuesday, Carrboro police reminded the public that the first step to take when you suspect someone is in an overdose state is to call 911 immediately. Protections are provided to someone in an overdose state and the 911 caller if certain criteria are met, as listed in NC’s Good Samaritan Law.
The Carrboro Police Department has carried naloxone, an opioid antagonist, since 2014. The agency also conducted the first two law enforcement reversals of an opioid overdose in the state in 2015.
“The police department is committed to providing life-saving care in these situations,” the release said, alongside a link to behavioral health resources for people living with substance use and other challenges.
SELMA, N.C. (WTVD) — A major operation in Johnston County that’s been 10 months in the making has taken dozens of alleged drug dealers off the street.
Selma Police said “Operation Tainted Candy” resulted in 25 arrests Tuesday, and that SPD confiscated large quantities of meth, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and more. The sting constitutes one of the largest in Selma’s history.
“I just think that it’s really important that our streets are safe and our neighborhoods are safe,” said Vanessa Lopez, a Selma resident and mother of five.
It makes you feel like you’re doing something great for your community, great for the town, and you’re getting bad stuff off the streets. – Sgt. Justin Vause, Selma Police Department.
Vanessa’s children range in age from 9 to 20, and she said that means a fair share of worrying about their safety and what potentially looms on the street.
“They’re all within the space of ages that I would be thinking about, you know, their friendships and the people that they’re spending time with,” she said. “And they also want to ride bikes around the neighborhood and just things like that.”
As part of the sting, which used undercover drug buys across Selma during 10 months, police rounded up drugs and alleged drug dealers at various locations, including the Quality Inn, and homes on Wood Street and Cypress Court.
“It makes you feel like you’re doing something great for your community, great for the town, and you’re getting bad stuff off the streets,” said Sgt. Justin Vause with Selma PD.
The town’s mayor, Byron McAllister, said he’s proud of the work being done to clean up Selma’s streets.
“That is a blessing to this community, particularly a community being right off of (Interstate) 95 that sees the effects of drugs daily on a daily basis up front, close and personal,” said McAllister.
McAllister said that as a father of four, he’s reassured knowing the work that’s underway to combat drug crime.
“You can go to sleep much easier knowing that there’s someone always watching your back in the town of Selma,” he said.
Selma PD identified 27 targets as part of Operation Tainted Candy and is still searching for two suspects in the sting. Charges range from simple possession to possession with intent to distribute, to drug trafficking, and more.
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Raleigh fentanyl dealer who used social media platforms to advertise his product was sentenced to 144 months in prison, which includes an enhancement for the defendant’s attempts to intimidate government witnesses. On April 25, 2024, Axel Rodriguez a/k/a “Flash,” age 23, pled guilty to conspiracy and trafficking of fentanyl.
“Drug traffickers are increasingly pushing deadly fake pills through social media. They’ve learned they don’t need to stand on street corners when they can reach kids on their smart phones,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Counterfeit Oxycontin, Percocet, and Xanax sold on social media are driving addiction and overdose death. It’s time to get the word out and warn kids of the risks.”
According to court documents and other information presented in court, in March 2023, Rodriguez became the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Raleigh Police Department (RPD) investigation after he was identified as selling fentanyl in the Raleigh area using his Instagram account. Rodriguez regularly used his Instagram account to post pictures of the pills he was selling, as well as guns. Rodriguez would advertise that he was able to sell “K packs” of fentanyl pills, which is slang for 1,000 pills. Investigators reviewed Rodriguez’s Instagram account and observed numerous posts of firearms, gang members with firearms, and fentanyl pills for sale.
The investigation revealed Rodriguez was obtaining thousands of pills at a time and then distributing them in the Raleigh area. Between March and May of 2023, investigators conducted multiple controlled purchases of blue pills marked “M-30” from Rodriguez. For example, on March 13, 2023, investigators purchased 25 pills marked “M30.” The confidential informant reported that he observed four firearms in Rodriguez’s vehicle during that transaction. The pills tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.
