Category: Media Coverage

Two women indicted after juvenile dies of overdose in Asheboro, sheriff’s office says

Read the original article on the WGHP website.

RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Two women have been indicted after a child died by overdose, according to authorities.

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office says they were called to a home in Asheboro in May about a juvenile overdose. EMS and fire personnel were already on scene performing life-saving measures when deputies arrived to assist, and the victim was taken to a hospital. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators found drug paraphernalia at the home and sought charges against the victim’s mother, Carrie Jo Graves, 36, and Amy Lee Locklear, 42.

The two women were both indicted by a grand jury in July. Graves was indicted for second-degree murder without regard, and Locklear was indicted for felony involuntary manslaughter.

On July 31, deputies traveled to Robeson and Cumberland Counties to take the two into custody.

Both Graves and Locklear were already wanted for failing to appear in Cumberland County, and Locklear had an additional arrest order for failing to appear in Robeson County.

Graves was taken into custody in Parkton without incident and transported back to Randolph County. She was given no bond.

Locklear was taken into custody in Saint Pauls and brought back to Randolph County. She was given a $362,000 secured bond for the various charges.

NC man sentenced for fentanyl sale linked to Cary hotel overdose death

Read the original article on the Raleigh News and Observer website.

A man from Henderson was sentenced to 16 years in prison for selling fentanyl to a person who later died of an overdose in Cary. imaginima Getty Images

A North Carolina man whose distribution of fentanyl contributed to a fatal overdose in a Cary hotel has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

Keymon Leahke Cofield, 25, of Vance County pleaded guilty in April to distributing fentanyl and heroin, along with possession with intent to distribute. The investigation that led to his arrest began on June 13, 2020, when Cary police responding to a suspected overdose at a local hotel found a 35-year-old man dead with 50 bindles of suspected fentanyl and heroin, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina said.

Officials traced the fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, to Cofield, who was 20 at the time. They determined he had traveled south from the small city of Henderson to Cary to sell drugs. An undercover investigation that summer culminated in Cofield’s arrest. Authorities seized 651 bindles of suspected fentanyl and heroin, and a search of Cofield’s phone showed photos of firearms and large amounts of cash.

The Department of Justice listed Cofield’s nicknames as “Keymoney” and “Boi Fat.”

Cary and North Carolina overall have seen increases in opioid incidents this century. Statewide, opioid overdose fatalities rose 800% between 1999 and 2016 — from around 100 deaths to 1,300. Cary reported 11 on-the-scene opioid overdose deaths in 2017 and the same number in 2020, the year of Cofield’s arrest. In 2018, Cary launched an Opioid Wastewater Project pilot program that sought to measure opioid consumption not by overdoses but by the concentration of opioids in sewage samples. Ten locations around the town of 170,000 were selected.

Town officials sought a new gauge for opioid use after observing deliveries of Narcan — a medication that can reverse the impacts of opioid overdoses — exceeded actual reports of overdoses.

In 2022, Cary reported 118 opioid-related incidents, a higher total than in any of the previous five years. That year, Cary received $928,360 from the North Carolina Department of Justice as part of national settlement agreements with opioid companies.

Trump signs bill making tough sentences for fentanyl trafficking permanent

Read the original article on the USA Today website.

Nearly 73,000 people died from overdosing synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to the government.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a law that extends tougher prison sentences for fentanyl trafficking, surrounded by relatives of people who died from overdoses and lawmakers who approved the bill.

“Today we strike a righteous blow to the drug dealers, narcotic traffickers and criminal cartels,” Trump said. “We take a historic step toward justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge.”

The law places fentanyl on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of most serious drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The list includes drugs such as heroin, cocaine and LSD. Fentanyl has been temporarily assigned to the Schedule 1 category since 2018. The law makes the designation permanent.

The law also makes permanent mandatory minimum penalties of five years in prison for trafficking 10 grams of fentanyl and 10 years for 100 grams.

“It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a big deal,” Trump said.

The Department of Homeland Security seized 27,000 pounds of fentanyl and arrested 3,600 criminal suspects in 2024.

More than 105,000 people nationwide died of drug overdoses in 2023, including nearly 73,000 from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The crackdown on fentanyl distribution is also at the heart of current U.S. trade disputes with China, Mexico and Canada. Trump imposed tariffs on those countries, citing the threat of cross-border fentanyl trafficking.

“We are delivering another defeat for the savage drug smugglers and criminals and the cartels,” Trump said.

Parents of several people who died after overdosing on fentanyl spoke at the event.

Anne Fundner, whose 15-year-old son Weston died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2022, previously spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year.

“It is a lifeline for families across America for keeping our families safe,” Fundner said of the legislation. “This is what we voted for, Mr. President.”

Gregory Swan, whose 24-year-old son Drew died of fentanyl poisoning, started a group known as Fentanyl Fathers, in which parents tell their story to high schools across America.

“His passing ruined, I thought, my life,” Swan said. “There’s despair and there’s hopelessness. But we’ve been able to find some repose in going out and advocating.”

Google to block promotion of pill presses on ads and shopping platforms

Read the article on the Partnership for Safe Medicines website.

On July 1, Google announced that it was updating its dangerous products and services policy to restrict the promotion of pill presses, encapsulating machines and components they use, such as dies, molds and stamps used to create or imprint pills. The change will affect the Google Ads and Google Shopping platforms starting in September 2025, with six weeks until full implementation.

Contents-Bar-Pill-presses

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that states and tribes proposing importation programs can use “a static baseline approach for the cost-savings analysis” instead of trying to account for changes in unpredictable markets.

ENC law enforcement trains in Morehead City on death by distribution cases

Read the original article and watch the video on the WCTI News 12 website.

Law enforcement officials from across eastern North Carolina gathered in Morehead City to enhance their understanding of death by distribution cases. Carteret County officials emphasized the importance of this training.

Officers, detectives, and deputies from Carteret and Craven counties convened at the Morehead City Police Department to stay informed on trends and strategies for handling these cases. Sheriff Asa Buck highlighted the local efforts to strengthen their approach since the introduction of the new law in 2019.

“For the past couple of years one of my detectives, Corey Bishop, and Assistant District Attorney David Spence have been putting on this training session — not just here in our county, but across the state in various trainings, homicide investigator events, and other conferences as well,” said Sheriff Buck.

Since 2020, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office has charged 30 individuals under the death by distribution law, leading the state in such prosecutions. Sheriff Buck and Assistant District Attorney David Spence were present to lead the training and discuss the significance of these cases.

Man arrested after 39-year-old dies from overdose in Union County, police say

Read the original article and watch the video on the WBTV3 website.

MONROE, N.C. (WBTV) – A man was arrested after a 39-year-old died from an overdose in Union County in March, according to police.

Records showed 52-year-old Fredrick Bivens was charged with death by distribution on Saturday, June 28, and given a $1 million bond.

What happened

On March 4, police said they responded to calls for an unresponsive person at a home along Broome Street in Monroe.

Upon arrival, officers said they found Jerry Deese suffering from a medical emergency, and “despite rapid intervention and lifesaving efforts,” he was pronounced dead.

His death was later determined to be the result of a drug overdose, according to police.

Investigation leads to Bivens’ arrest

After an “extensive investigation,” officers said they identified Bivens as being responsible for supplying the drugs that led to Deese’s death.

Authorities advised that shortly after identifying Bivens as a suspect, he was apprehended and placed in the Union County Detention Center.

“Let this case serve as a clear message: if you distribute deadly drugs in our community, you will be held accountable,” said Chief Rhett Bolen. “My department remains fully committed to aggressively pursuing those who profit from narcotics and ensuring they face the consequences of their actions.”

Carteret County leads state in death by distribution charges

Read the original article watch the video WNCT TV9 website.

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) — Carteret County has the most charges of death by distribution in the state from 2013 to June 2024, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

The law allows officials to prosecute individuals who sell or give drugs to someone that leads to an overdose death. Carteret County has had 171 fentanyl-related deaths since 2013, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

Barb Walsh founded The Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina after fentanyl killed her daughter in 2021. She now collects data and information from government agencies about fentanyl deaths so people can know what is happening in their counties.

“My 24-year-old daughter was killed by fentanyl in a water bottle. August 16th, 2021,” Walsh said. “She was smart. She was successful and professional. She had just gotten a promotion. She lived in Charlotte, 24 years old, and she should still be alive.”

Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck III said tackling the fentanyl crisis is a priority for his office. He said the death by distribution law has become a strong tool.

“Put yourself in the shoes of a grieving mother or father, many of whom I’ve talked with right here sitting in this office, then come back to me and tell me what you think about the death by distribution law,” Sheriff Buck said. “It’s easy for people to say how they would feel, but when it comes home to them, it’s a completely different story.”

Learn more about the Fentanyl Victims Network here.

New Report: U.S. drug overdose deaths rise again after hopeful decline

Read the original article on the NPR website.

A view of the sign of Center for Disease Control headquarters is seen in Atlanta, Georgia

For the first time in more than a year, street drug deaths appear to be rising across the U.S. according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest available data, compiled in January of this year, shows fatal overdoses over the previous 12-month period increased by roughly 1,400 deaths.

“This slight increase reflects historic data and suggests that the U.S. saw more overdose deaths in January 2025 than it did in January 2024,” the CDC said in a statement sent to NPR. “We are working on analyses to better understand geographic trends.”

The CDC data suggests roughly 82,138 deaths during the 12-month period ending in January 2025. That would be a significant increase from the December 2024 report, but it’s still far below the overdose crisis peak of 114,664 recorded in August 2023.

Still, after seventeen months of declines in fatal overdoses that stunned drug policy experts and an unprecedented 27 percent drop in drug deaths in 2024, some addiction researchers described this report as troubling.

Keith Humphreys, a researcher at Stanford University, said the new CDC data could be an early warning that drug death declines brought on by a number of factors, including the end of COVID pandemic disruptions and weaker fentanyl being sold on U.S. streets, could be fading.

“If we assume it’s not a blip, this makes it more likely that the sudden drop [in fatal overdoses] was a one-off event rather than a fundamental change in epidemic dynamics,” Humphreys said in an email.

Most overdose deaths in the U.S. are caused by fentanyl, but researchers who sample the street drug supply have warned of an increasingly dangerous mix of chemicals being sold by dealers, including cocaine and methamphetamines, as well veterinary tranquilizers such as medetomidine and xylazine.

“Overdose trends are not a one-way street, and there will be periodic local increases,” said Nabarun Dasgupta, who studies overdose trends at the University of North Carolina.

His analysis of the latest CDC data suggested “most of the country is still trending down in the right direction.”

According to Dasgupta, the “increase in predicted national numbers are driven primarily by upticks in Texas, Arizona, California and Washington.”

Continue reading “New Report: U.S. drug overdose deaths rise again after hopeful decline”
Translate »