For some families during the holidays there is an empty seat at the table — a hole that can never be filled because of addiction.
In Carteret County, two mothers are living with that loss every day after losing their sons to fentanyl overdoses.
Chandler Stewart struggled with substance use since the end of high school, in and out of rehab as he tried to recover. But one relapse changed everything.
“He had not passed away at that point he was in the hospital and we were just praying that we didn’t have to make the decision to take him off of life support so he did go on his own several hours later and I knew it had to be fentanyl.” his mother Lynn Stewart says.
Chandler died on January 1, 2022. Nearly four years later, his mother still holds tightly to his memory — and encourages other families grieving similar losses to do the same.
“We need to love our children who have past by talking about them don’t isolate yourself don’t go in a room remember all the good times they had with their loved ones.”
Christmas was Chandler’s favorite holiday. A family photo taken that day became their last picture together. Now, each family member keeps that moment close, turning the image into ornaments that hang on the tree each year.
“When I look at the picture I just see everyone arguing and everything but that was the last picture that we have of chandler with the group,” says Stewart.
Just months later, another Carteret County family faced the same devastating reality.
On November 5, 2022, Tyler Dees lost his life to fentanyl after struggling with addiction for six years.
Annie Brown the mother of Tyler says, “It’s not just an empty chair at the table for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s every holiday, every birthday. It’s an empty space that will never be filled again.”
Tyler had just turned 26. While many families celebrate milestones and memories, his mother says grief follows her into every moment of life.
“I feel guilty sometimes for doing things because he’s not here to do them with me. I feel like I’m not supposed to smile or laugh or have fun during certain events because he’s not here anymore. It just hits me that we have to go the rest of our lives without him.”
But Tyler loved fishing — and his mother found a way to turn that passion into purpose. She created an annual event called Fishing With Addiction, raising more than $51,000 in his memory. The funds were donated to two local recovery homes, helping others on their journey toward healing.
CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – After losing her 26-year-old son, Tyler Dees, to fentanyl in 2022, Annie Brown of Carteret County has turned unimaginable grief into a powerful mission of hope and healing for others battling addiction.
Dees, a Carteret County native, was known for his love of fishing, making lures, and spending time with friends and family. His mother says his death came after years of struggling with mental health issues.
“I got the call the next day from his dad that he was gone,” Brown said. “I knew he was going to pass away before I moved back from California, I just didn’t know it would happen right before the holidays. He’s at peace right now with all the demons he was battling. He was diagnosed at a very early age with depression.”
Brown says her son’s death was not an isolated tragedy.
Supplies, such as the medications naloxone and buprenorphine, carried by Buncombe County community paramedics on the post-overdose response team. Credit: Courtesy of Justin Hall
By Rachel Crumpler
A life lost in Buncombe County in 2022 still weighs on — and motivates — Shuchin Shukla, a family physician who specializes in addiction medicine.
A community paramedic had responded to an overdose involving a person recently released from jail. After reviving them, the paramedic told the patient about a soon-to-launch program that would start people on a medication used to treat opioid addiction after an overdose.
Soon after, the person used again, experienced a second overdose and went into cardiac arrest. They later died at the hospital.
“For the team working on this, the case hit home that every moment of every day matters for patients. At any minute, they’re at risk of dying or having an overdose,” Shukla said. “That’s how critical this is.”
For months, Shukla had been working with Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services to launch Buncombe Bridge to Care, a project to equip paramedics to administer buprenorphine — a medication proven to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms, reduce cravings and support long-term recovery for people with opioid use disorder —when responding to overdoses or others in the community struggling with addiction.
Theresa Mathewson and Susan Burkhart never asked for this. They never asked for their mission in life to be educating others about the dangers of fentanyl, but after they both lost a child to fentanyl poisonings that’s what they’re doing.
And now — that drug they’re warning others about — is popping up in all kinds of places and hurting all kinds of people, including the innocent.
Susan Burkhart, left, and Theresa Matthewson look at a poster filled with faces of Harnett County residents killed by fentanyl poisoning. Burkhart lost her granddaughter. Matthewson lost her son. Both women now fight to save as many others as they can.
It was added to the percocet pills that killed Mathewson’s son and Burkhart’s granddaughter. Dunn police found it in pills that looked like Flintstones vitamins. Sampson County medical workers found it in cigarettes. It was even in the bottle of water that killed Sophia Walsh, whose mother leads the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.
“Fentanyl is everywhere,” Lt. Patrice Bogertey, of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, told The Daily Record in April. “Fentanyl is commonly mixed with heroin, cocaine, meth, and other narcotics to enhance their effects. It is available in various forms, including nasal sprays, liquids, pills, and powders.”
Dealers have hidden it in liquid eye drops and Advil liquid gel pills, in candy and in edibles.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – What started as a normal day for UNCW student Alex Bradford ended in tragedy, but his father’s mission to honor his memory comes at a time with encouraging statistics about North Carolina’s fight against the overdose crisis.
“I would say by far that was the worst day of my life,” said Jeremy Bradford, Alex’s father.
Alex died in 2023 from an overdose, a life full of promise that became part of a nationwide statistic.
Jeremy Bradford heard the words no parent is ever prepared to hear.
“Because of the distance between Spring Lake and Wilmington, we didn’t initially find out. We found out through social media. Somebody texted my wife and said, ‘Hey the police and ambulance are at the boys’ apartment complex. I think something’s wrong with Alex,” Bradford said.
Jeremy says his son was having a tough day and purchased what he thought was a Percocet pill, but it was actually straight fentanyl. That was two years ago.
Now in North Carolina, the state health department reports overdose deaths are trending down.
Each day in 2023, 12 North Carolinians died from drug overdoses. But in 2024, that number decreased to 8.
Locally, numbers presented to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners in April showed emergency room visits from overdoses decreased from 110 in 2023 to 98 in 2024.
“For the first time in over 20 years of studying this, I actually am speechless,” said Nabarun Dasgupta, a street drug expert at UNC-Chapel Hill, when asked about drug trends moving forward.
He also says trends show that most overdose deaths are between Gen X and millennials.
“What you see with Gen Z is a really different substance use pattern that’s more Psilocybin, more marijuana, a little more ketamine and ecstasy. And so they have watched their parents and their grandparents’ generations struggle with opioids and have decided that’s not the drug of choice for that generation,” said Dasgupta.
Dasgupta says there are several reasons overdose deaths are declining.
“I think we can understand the decline in overdoses in three ways. One, the drug supply is changing. Number two, people’s behaviors are changing. And number three, the demographics of who is using opioids is also changing,” Dasgupta said.
And a common activity seen in college students and drug use is sharing pills. But he says this is also on the decline.
“We see a lot less of that sharing behavior now. And that’s kind of across the board, and the problem now is not really with the prescription opioid and pills,” said Dasgupta. “Most mortalities are coming from powdered substances.”
But Jeremy Bradford believes advocacy and awareness play a role in the decline, too.
That’s why he created the 2 Out Rally Foundation to educate and advocate for mental health and empower individuals impacted by illicit fentanyl use.
They host events and advertise at places like baseball games to help parents and kids educate themselves.
“It’s been very therapeutic for our mental health to put pain to purpose. And our purpose now is to tell Alex’s story and ensure no other parent has to go through this. I’m a member of a club I never wanted to be a part of. And I don’t like new members,” Bradford said.
Bradford hopes that the death of his son will help save the lives of others, and overdose deaths will continue to decline.
“So that when it gets tough, when it is the bottom of the ninth and there are two outs, you’re not out of the game,” said Jeremy Bradford. “There’s still plenty of life to live and to move on. And you don’t need to result to a negative action that could end up taking your life.”
A Wilson man received more than five years in prison after pleading guilty in the county’s first death by distribution case, following the fentanyl overdose death of a 25-year-old Navy veteran.
A Wilson man was sentenced Monday to an active term in state prison after pleading guilty to the first death by distribution case to be adjudicated in Wilson County.
Tabron Tyrone Farmer, 35, of the 5100 block of Wilson Road, made an Alford plea July 29 to death by distribution in the June 25, 2023, death of 25-year-old Shade Izayah Anthonee Staples. An Alford plea is an arrangement in which the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges there is likely enough evidence to ensure a conviction
In Wilson County Criminal Superior Court on Monday, Resident Superior Court Judge L. Lamont Wiggins sentenced Farmer to a minimum of five years and seven months to a maximum of seven years and nine months active in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.
Farmer is the first person to be sentenced in Wilson in a death by distribution case since modifications in the death by distribution law were ratified in September 2023, providing for stiffer sentences for defendants who unlawfully deliver certain controlled substances that proximately cause a person’s death.
Assistant District Attorney Kristen Spainhour told the court that on the date of his death Staples had consumed three beers at Brewmasters at lunchtime, at which time he called Farmer asking to purchase Percocet pills.
Spainhour said Staples walked to a nearby store to meet Farmer. Staples purchased two blue pills from Farmer. Spainhour said the transaction was captured on video, adding he thought he was purchasing Percocet.
Spainhour told the court that the defendant called the victim shortly thereafter saying that he thought he had given him the wrong package, that he “thought he messed up.”
At 2:22 p.m. on the date of his death, family members noticed that Staples’ speech was slurred while he was playing a video game with his sister, Spainhour said. Staples “slumped over on the couch” and was not moving and his eyes had rolled back, Spainhour told the court.
First responders could not revive Staples despite giving him the overdose reversal medication naloxone.
Spainhour said fentanyl was determined to be the cause of death.
Spainhour said the victim’s family was “devastated” by the loss.
Defense attorney Andrew Boyd told the court that his client pleaded guilty as a result of a plea arrangement in which lesser charges were dismissed.
Boyd told the court that Farmer has 12 children, is married and that his wife was in court for the sentencing.
“There is nothing we could say that would bring Shade Staples back,” Boyd said.
Farmer was ordered to pay $2,975 in counsel fees to attorney Boyd.
Wiggins revoked Farmer’s bond and ordered him taken into custody.
STAPLES A NAVY VETERAN
After the sentencing, Staples’ mother, Taira Gandarilla, formerly of Wilson and now residing in Knightdale, told the Times that her son was a Navy veteran.
“It is kind of bittersweet,” Gandarilla said. “Regardless of the outcome, it’s not going to bring Shade back, but it is very rewarding as a mother to know that even though my son sacrificed his life, we can definitely prevent somebody else from losing their life as a result of this young man’s carelessness.”
Gandarilla said it was comforting to her that other parents of Fentanyl overdose victims were in the courtroom at the time of the sentencing.
Ten families of Wilson County fentanyl overdose victims were present in the court for Monday’s hearing.
Gandarilla said that until Monday, she did not know this group existed.
“You guys didn’t know me from Sunday, and to know that I already have a family is incredibly comforting,” Gandarilla said. “You can go through therapy all day long, but the best therapy is to go through it with people who have walked in your shoes. We have than commonality that is going to forever bond us.”
Gandarilla said her son was “first and foremost a brother.”
“Shade absolutely coveted the relationship that he had with his sisters. He was the oldest of four siblings. He had three younger sisters, and those were his girls. He was incredibly family oriented. He was an old soul. For a 25-year-old man, he literally saw the world differently than anybody else I had ever met. He just saw things from a different lens. He was always asking questions. He wanted to learn as much as possible every single day.”
Two other death by distribution cases are pending in Wilson County.
Wilson County has had 151 fentanyl fatalities since 2013, according to Barb Walsh of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina. She was with parents of overdose victims who were at the courthouse.
Mike Loomis, founder of Race Against Drugs, is having one of the best weeks of his life four years after the worst day of his life.
Loomis and his wife lost their son, James, to fentanyl poisoning in April 2021. Since that day, they have been channeling their pain, anger and frustration into educating people on the dangers of opioid addiction, supporting those in need of recovery and advocating for public access of naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan.
Loomis has been an ever-present fixture at the Davidson County Opioid Settlement Funds committee, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners, the Davidson County Board of Education meetings and other events. He has been vocal about the need for access to Narcan in the community, including in the schools.
He says it has been an uphill battle, but this week he feels he has made some significant progress with county leadership.
“It’s about time the county commissioners, the schools and the community have come together to provide this life-saving cog in saving lives,” said Loomis.
On Monday, the Davidson County Schools Board of Education approved a new policy for the use of naloxone in emergency situations to prevent opioid overdose death. The proposed policy states each school in the district should have an adequate supply stored in a secure, yet accessible location. The policy includes training one or more employee at each school as part of the medical care program in the emergency use of Narcan.
“I would like to thank the superintendent and the school board for considering this policy,” said Loomis. “This is only one cog in saving a life in Davidson County. Right now, we are at around 480 people in Davidson County who have died because of fentanyl. The highest growing number of deaths are from 14- to 17-year-olds; these are your students, these are your children.”
This policy will be under review for the next 30 days before final approval by the Davidson County Schools Board of Education.
Narcan has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration as safe to use for the life-saving application during a suspected opioid overdose and can be administered to anyone regardless of their age.
On Thursday, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners continued their discussion on using opioid settlement funds for supporting school programs and whether to hire a full-time coordinator to oversee the use of the opioid settlement funds.
The commissioners heard from Davidson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Gregg Slate about the pending Narcan policy, as well as other potential early prevention programs through the schools.
Slate said the schools are working on developing a sustainable and vetted medical source to supply Narcan, as well as, estimating costs of training. He said the district has also considered parent and caregiver education, opioid awareness and prevention programming for students, as well as professional development for staff.
“We looked a variety of different things, from the front end and the back end,” said Slate. “We’ve already started the conversation…We are trying to be on the forefront of this as far as school districts go because I think it is important.”
The commissioners voiced strong support of the new Narcan policy and asked Slate to bring back a proposal on using opioid settlement funds to purchase supplies and training staff on its use.
Due to a scheduling conflict, the superintendents from Lexington City Schools and Thomasville City Schools, could not participate in the discussion on Thursday, but are scheduled to appear at a county commissioner meeting in September.
Davidson County Manager Casey Smith said there were not a whole lot of options in the state for consultants specifically for management of opioid settlement funds, but there was a group in Asheville, the Mount Area Health Education Center, that did offer training and development of impact strategies.
The commissioners decided they would like to hear more information from the MAHEC in a future meeting before making any further decision on deciding on whether to hire a full-time coordinator or use of consultation services.
Loomis says he supports the hiring of a coordinator rather than a consultant.
“They have enough money in the (opioid settlement fund) to hire a legitimate manager. Commissioners may come and go, but a full-time coordinator will know everyone involved and what is needed for this community,” said Loomis.
To cap off this week of encouraging progress in the fight against opioid addiction, Race Against Drugs will be holding a special event on Saturday.
A Day of Recovery will be on Aug. 9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Breeden Insurance Amphitheater in Lexington.
The annual event includes representation from local law enforcement, the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, Daymark Recovery Services, Davidson County Medical Ministries, Davidson County Emergency Services,the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health, Goodwill Industries, several local churches and other non-profit organizations.
It will also include live entertainment, food trucks, play area for kids, games and door-prizes.
Loomis said he is thankful for all the support of those involved in the Day of Recovery, the county commissioners and the Davidson County Schools. He said he is encouraged with the progress made towards opioid awareness and prevention, but he has no plans to stop advocating for those touched by fentanyl addiction.
“I don’t want to be a pain in the ass to people, but I will to save a life,” said Loomis.
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.
Debbie Dalton’s advocacy continues as officials sound the alarm on the crisis.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Union County District Attorney Trey Robison is sounding the alarm about fentanyl and opioids, something he says remains a public health and safety issue as leaders across the Tar Heel State continue seeking solutions.
According to the State Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina averages nine deaths from fentanyl overdoses every day. Community leaders say it’s the number one issue impacting their community.
That’s a number that’s too high for Debbie Dalton.
Dalton lost her son, Hunter, to fentanyl in 2016. She’s been sharing her son’s story for the past eight years. In almost every room in Dalton’s home, reminders and memories are seen throughout. She told WCNC Charlotte that Hunter was a UNC Charlotte graduate who had bright dreams.
“This is Hunter’s room — he loved penguins, so we collect penguins everywhere we go,” Dalton said.
The Monday after Thanksgiving in 2016, Dalton learned she would never see her son again. Fentanyl, which he used as a recreational drug, turned deadly.
“I was bracing for ‘Hunter’s been in an accident’. I never could have fathomed the words that Hunter had overdosed. I just remember screaming,” Dalton said.
“Young people today, to make the decision to try drugs, there really is one of two things that are going to happen: they’re going to end up with a life of addiction or they’re going to die,” Dalton said.
“You can’t talk about those things without also talking about mental health; they are intertwined,” said Union County District Attorney Trey Robison, who’s advocating for more robust mental health and drug addiction treatment programs and places people can go when they need help.
“We’re working on the supply side of the opioid crisis, but the demand side has to be addressed as well. We’re not going to arrest and incarcerate people out of the opioid crisis, that’s not going to happen,” he added.
In the meantime, Dalton holds onto the bucket list her son created. She keeps it in his room as a reminder of why she’s advocating for families impacted by drug addiction to receive support.
“He has on his bucket list to save someone’s life, and what 23-year-old thinks of that?” she said. “We know that’s what he’s doing, his story is saving lives.”
“Because these funds are a one-time disbursement, as a community, we have to be strategic about where they are spent to ensure that we have a meaningful and lasting impact.”
