Category: Death by Distribution
3 face drug charges following probe into suspected fentanyl death
Read the original article on the Sampson Independent website.
Three Clinton-area men are behind bars this afternoon, facing a multitude of drug charges related to an ongoing death investigation involving a 49-year-old woman believed to have died from a suspected fentanyl overdose.
Warrants were issued Tuesday for James Bradford, 38, 1200 Taylors Bridge Hwy., Clinton, Dustin Millen, 37, 1200 Taylors Bridget Hwy., Clinton, and Benjamin Rackley, 43, of 50 Quarterhorse Lane, Clinton, with Bradford being taken into custody Tuesday, Nov. 18, and Miller and Rackley jailed earlier today, Nov. 20.
Miller is facing charges of trafficking in Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), possession methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, sell or delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance, conspiracy to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to Sampson County Sheriff’s reports, Bradford was charged with trafficking in a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Rackley, reports show, was charged with maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, sell or deliver of a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), conspiracy to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The arrests come on the heels of a joint operation between the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Investigation Division, the Uniform Patrol Division, the Criminal Interdiction Team and the Animal Control unit.
Sampson County Sheriff’s Capt. Marcus Smith noted in a release that a series of three search warrants were issued as a result of that operation, followed by the arrest of the three individuals.
The warrants were obtained, he said, as part of an ongoing probe into the 49-year-old Clinton woman’s death on Nov. 18, one suspected to be tied to a fentanyl overdose.
Continue reading “3 face drug charges following probe into suspected fentanyl death”Leland man pleads guilty to death by distribution
Read the original article and watch the video on the WECT 6 website.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – A Leland man has pleaded guilty to charges involving a fatal overdose in 2022.
42-year-old William McKinley Huckaby pleaded guilty to death by distribution and attempted trafficking in methamphetamine, according to a release from the District Attorney’s Office.
James Ray Lewis, 42, died from fentanyl toxicity on June 24, 2022. Investigators from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office discovered a syringe and other drug paraphernalia near his body, which suggested fentanyl ingestion.
Detectives later discovered text messages between the two men. In one message, Huckaby encouraged Lewis to steal vacuums from a retailer in exchange for drugs, according to authorities.
The other messages also indicate that Huckaby had previously profited from tools Lewis stole in exchange for drugs, according to the DA’s Office.
Law enforcement claimed that Huckaby had roughly 26 grams of methamphetamine and a dosage unit of fentanyl on him when he was arrested.
“William Huckaby encouraged those severely addicted to opioids to steal merchandise for him with the promise of fentanyl for payment,” District Attorney Jason W. Smith said. “Huckaby’s exploitation of the addicted represents why our lawmakers enacted the Death by Distribution law. In many instances, severe addiction disrupts the decision-making parts of the brain, and those who profit while exploiting this addiction will be sent to prison.”
Huckaby was sentenced to 76 to 104 months in prison and 2 years in the residential recovery program TROSA afterward.
Toddlers revived with Narcan after fentanyl exposure; mother & boyfriend charged
Read the article and watch the video on the WRAL TV News website.
Raleigh police arrested mother Vinus Humphreys and her boyfriend Tyrone Bannerman on felony child abuse charges after her twin 22-month-old children were exposed to fentanyl inside their apartment.
Raleigh police arrested a mother and her boyfriend for child abuse after they said her twin toddlers were exposed to fentanyl inside their apartment.
Vinus Humphreys, 25, and Tyrone Bannerman, 28, are both facing two counts of felony child abuse. Raleigh police responded after 8 p.m. Monday to a home on Lake Hills Drive to a report of an unresponsive child.
EMS was already on scene providing medical aid to a 22-month-old child when, shortly after, the child’s twin also became unresponsive.
First responders administered Narcan to both children and took them to the hospital for further treatment. Their condition is considered stable and are expected to survive.
Narcan is is a medicine that can help people who are overdosing on an opioid.
Raleigh police found drugs, drug paraphernalia and a firearm inside the home, resulting in more charges for Bannerman, including:
- Trafficking opium/heroin
- Manufacturer of Schedule II controlled substance
- Misdemeanor possession of marijuana
The incident raised concerns for Barb Walsh, the executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina. The number of children younger than the age of 5 dying from fentanyl is on the rise. According to the North Carolina Office of the Medical Examiner, 29 children younger than 5 year old died from fentanyl between 2017 and 2022, with 72% of those deaths occurring in 2021 and 2022.
“It breaks my heart,” Walsh said. “I hate to use the word overdosing with a two-year-old because they didn’t know what they were taking.”
Walsh lost her 24-year-old daughter in 2021 to an unintentional fentanyl exposure when a toxic amount of it was in a water bottle. It’s why she’s so involved in advocating for change so other families don’t have to experience this pain.
“We’re making progress,” Walsh said. “That’s all we can hope for.”
Earlier this year, Gov. Josh Stein signed a new law creating new criminal offenses for exposing a child to a controlled substance.
Walsh said it goes much further than the laws in place now.
“They get child abuse or child neglect,” Walsh said. “The new law will be a felony even if they ingest it and are OK. That will save someone else’s life.”
Walsh said the new law is a lot more specific compared to the broader charge of child abuse. However, Humphreys and Bannerman won’t be charged under the new law. While Stein signed it into law in July, it won’t become effective until Dec. 1, which is exactly four weeks after Humphreys’ twins were exposed to fentanyl.
“People who endanger a child with a harmful substance like fentanyl should be held accountable for their actions,” Walsh said. “It will lead to lives being saved. That’s the goal. We want lives saved.”
Humphreys and Bannerman are due in court for their first appearances Wednesday afternoon in Wake County. Authorities are holding both of them without bond.
Burlington man charged with death by distribution in fatal overdose case
Read the original article on the ABC45 News website.
BURLINGTON, N.C. — The Burlington Police Department has charged Christopher Jacob Tidwell, 29, with death by distribution following a six-month investigation into a fatal overdose. The incident occurred on March 26, 2025, in the 2500 block of South Church Street in Burlington, N.C. Tidwell, a Burlington resident, was already being held on pending trafficking fentanyl charges related to the same investigation. He has not received a bond for these charges.
The Burlington Police Department emphasized its commitment to holding fentanyl traffickers accountable and pursuing justice for overdose victims.
“Fentanyl continues to be a leading cause of fatal overdoses across the nation,” the department stated, adding that it will “continue to work aggressively to identify and prosecute those who distribute this deadly substance.”
North Carolina man charged in fatal drug overdose in Burlington
Read the original article on the WXII 12 website.
BURLINGTON, N.C. —
A 29-year-old man is charged with a fatal overdose that occurred in Burlington.
The Burlington Police Department said the death occurred in March in the area of South Church Street. The Burlington Police Department’s Opiate and Violent Crime Unit (OVCU) charged Christopher Jacob Tidwell, 29, of Burlington with Death by Distribution following the six-month investigation. Tidwell was being held on pending trafficking fentanyl charges that originated from the same investigation and additionally charged with death by distribution. He did not receive a bond.
Sheriff Ronnie Fields announces the arrest of one individual following an investigation into an overdose death in the West End area of Moore County
Newport woman sentenced for 2nd-degree murder
Read the original article on the WNCT TV9 website.
BEAUFORT, N.C. (WNCT) — Amanda Alice Blanton, 36, of Newport, pled guilty to 2nd degree murder in the death of Daniel Andrew Brisson, 46, also of Newport, and has been sentenced to 238-298 months in the Department of Adult Correction during the most recent term of Carteret County Criminal Superior Court.
The case was investigated by the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office, and the lead investigator was Courtney Howell. Assistant District Attorney David L. Spence prosecuted the case and Resident Superior Court Judge Clint Rowe presided over the matter.
Newport woman pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Carteret Co. man
Read the original article on the Carteret County News Times website.
BEAUFORT – District Attorney Matt Wareham and Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck announced that Amanda Alice Blanton, age 36 of Newport, pled guilty to Second-Degree murder in the death of Daniel Andrew Brisson, age 46 of Newport, and was sentenced to 238-298 months in the Department of Adult Correction during the most recent term of Carteret County Criminal Superior Court.
The case was investigated by the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office and the lead investigator was Courtney Howell. Assistant District Attorney David L. Spence prosecuted the case and Resident Superior Court Judge Clint Rowe presided over the matter. Pending the disposition of co-defendant cases in this matter a more detailed release will be issued.
The body of Daniel Andrew Brisson was found on Harris Street on March 20, 2022. Following an investigation, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office deputies have charged two more people with murder in connection with his death.
The two individuals are Joshua Kenneth Clauson, 20, and Jason Allen Porter, 42, of Newport. Police accuse the three individuals—Clauson, Porter, and a third person—of working together to intentionally inject Brisson with methamphetamine and fentanyl, and then dumping his body on Harris Street. Clauson is being held without bond at the Carteret County Jail. Porter was charged with murder but is already serving an active prison sentence for violating probation.
Multiple arrests made in Hoke County in Robeson death by distribution case
Read the original article on The Robisonian website.
HOKE COUNTY — A man was arrested in Hoke County after he was wanted in a death by distribution case in Robeson County.
The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office announced that on Tuesday members of the Narcotic/Vice Suppression Unit (NVSU), Robeson County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Apprehension Team served an arrest warrant on DeAngelo Gerald Cobb at his residence in the 1800 block of Balfour Road, just north of the Robeson County line outside of Red Springs.
Cobb was wanted out of Robeson County for an arrest warrant in reference to a death by distribution case.
While doing a safety sweep of the home, law enforcement observed marijuana, suspected psilocybin mushrooms, and firearms in plain view. The residence was seized and detectives with the NVSU obtained a narcotic search warrant.
While serving the search warrant, approximately 4 1/2 pounds of marijuana were found in various rooms throughout the house. Detectives also located four firearms, THC resin, bulk US currency, suspected methamphetamine, packaging materials, and other items of marijuana paraphernalia.
Cobb was transported by Robeson County detectives for the service of their arrest warrant prior to the search being completed.
Detectives with the NVSU swore out additional warrants for Cobb for four counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver marijuana, possession of a Schedule-I controlled substance, maintaining a vehicle/dwelling for the sell/delivery of a controlled substance, and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.
Wednesday, the arrest warrants from Hoke County Sheriff’s Office for DeAngelo Cobb were served in Robeson County. Cobb was given a $100,000.00 secured bond for the Hoke County charges and remained in the Robeson County Jail.
After the search, Virginia Carol Clark, Devin Shytel Southerland-Clark, Jacoby Anthony, Ryan McKoy, and Miah Sade Mitchell were placed under arrest by Hoke County Sheriff’s Office and transported to the Hoke County Detention Center.
Clark, Southerland-Clark, McKoy, and Mitchell were all charged at the Hoke County Detention Center with possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver marijuana, possession of a schedule I controlled substance, maintain a vehicle/dwelling for the sell/delivery of a controlled substance, and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.
Each received a $20,000 secured bond and a first appearance court date.
The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the US Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force and Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation is still ongoing.