Skateboard wheels skid in front of Sadieโs home, scraping, squeaking, then moving on. She paces between the porch rails, trying to peek at the face below the riderโs floppy hair.
Gwyneth Brown holds a photo of her son, Laird Ramirez, a 17-year-old Mecklenburg highschoolerwho died last July after taking a pressed pill that disguised fentanyl as a Percocet, his parents said. MELISSA MELVIN-RODRIGUEZ mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com
Is it Laird? Looks like Laird. Sounds like him, too, Gwyneth Brown imagines Sadie, her panting, shedding German Shepherd, is thinking.
โIโm with Sadie on this one,โ said Brown. โIโm still waiting for him to come home.โ
The pair have been waiting more than a year for one of the skaters to kick up their board and walk up the front steps. They never do. Itโs never Laird.
Laird Ramirez, a 17-year-old Mecklenburg highschooler, skateboarder and wrestler, died last July after taking a pressed pill that disguised fentanyl โ a lethal synthetic opioid โ as a Percocet, his parents said.
The Charlotte Observer reported a year ago on accounts from parents and students of how those $7 pills infiltrated Hough High School and how drug incidents inside Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reached a 10-year high amidst Lairdโs death.
Justice, Brown said, did not follow in his wake. While law enforcement and prosecutors say theyโre aggressively going after people whose drugs lead to an overdose or fentanyl poisoning, some families say they havenโt seen that โ and theyโre searching for ways to cope once court dates pass.
Mecklenburg death by distribution cases
A man who was 21 in July 2023 was accused of selling Laird fentanyl and charged with death by distribution.
Brown says there was video footage of that drug deal. She says the drugs captured on camera killed her son. Half a pill was still in his wallet when police returned it to her.
Overdose or Murder, Part 1: The Worst Call A Parent Can Get
When someone dies from a drug overdose, who should we blame? And how should they be punished? In Part 1 of this special “Start Here” series, ABC’s Camille Petersen explores the nationwide rise of drug-induced homicide laws, which allow for criminal charges against whoever gave or sold someone the drugs that caused their death. She takes us to North Carolina, where two families grapple with the pain and promise of these new laws.ย
Overdose or Murder, Part 2: ‘Perfect’ Justice?
Some families believe drug-induced homicide laws are a powerful form of justice. Others worry the laws will do more harm than good. In Part 2 of this special “Start Here” series, ABC’s Camille Petersen explores the fierce debate over these laws and how they may continue shaping our response to overdose deaths.
Forsyth County leaders discussed plans for more than $36 million in opioid settlement money, $6 million of which is headed straight to Winston-Salem.
Forsyth County leaders discussed plans for more than $36 million in opioid settlement money, $6 million of which is headed straight to Winston-Salem.
This money will be stretched over an 18-year span; distribution of the funds started about two years ago.
During the information session that discussed this settlement money, county and municipal leaders discussed ways the community can partner together to combat the opioid crisis.
King Mayor Rick McCraw says one strategy they’re implementing is educating seniors on how to handle Narcan.
“Because a lot of seniors now are raising their grandchildren or maybe another senior mate that may have taken their medicine twice, and they need to have Narcan,” McCraw said. “To be educated to administer Narcan if it arises if you need to do that.”
But the focus is also on young people.
Cheryl Wilson lost her son to fentanyl in 2020. She says the next step in this conversation is erasing the stigma surrounding Narcan.
“It enables breathing, it enables life, it enables a family to remain intact,” Wilson said. “I distribute naloxone to anyone in need, sometimes who are not in need, because I feel like they might need it eventually. And it’s how I keep my son alive.”
County leaders say this opioid settlement has some limitations; it must be used for evidence-based treatment and prevention.
The opioid crisis has ravaged communities and families across the Carolinas. Watch this Queen City News special report on fentanyl in the Carolinas on YouTube.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) โ According to the CDC, tens of thousands of people die each year from fentanyl. Itโs an issue affecting people across the country, and right here in North Carolina.
Heaven Leigh Nelson, a 24-year-old victim of fentanyl. (Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)
Officials have been working on solutions for years to get fentanyl out of the state and country.
Just two milligrams of this powerful synthetic opioid is enough to kill the average person, and it does just that, every day.
โShe loved everyone, and everyone loved her,โ said Patricia Drewes of her daughter, Heaven Leigh Nelson. Drewes said in her daughterโs 24 years on this earth, she loved photography, the arts and people.
โShe used to tell me all the time that there was no such thing as strangers. The strangers were friends that we just hadnโt met yet and thatโs the way she lived her life,โ she added.
Drewes said one day, Heaven went to a party.
โSomething happened to her at a partyโsomething tragicโand that set her into a tailspin. So, my daughter did suffer from a substance abuse disorder and that was caused by this tragic event,โ Drewes said.
Her daughter went to a rehabilitation center in Kentucky for help.
โSomeone brought her back home against my wishes. They had sent me a message saying they wanted to bring her back. You know, that she wanted to come home and I refused to bring her home because I wanted her to finish the program,โ Drewes said.
She said Heaven came back home to Vance County, N.C. just before she received the call every parent fears.
โOn a Monday night, January 28, 2019, and my fiancรฉ answered the phone, and I heard him say oh God oh no,โ Drewes said. โI think that my mind knew but my heart didnโt want to accept that it was about my daughter.โ
Heaven passed away and it was not until months later that Drewes said she learned fentanyl took her daughterโs life. At the time, she says, she knew nothing about fentanyl.
โAbsolutely nothing. No one was talking about illicit fentanyl in 2019. I had no clue,โ said Drewes. โIt felt like someone had punched me in my face and a gut punch because to me, illicit fentanyl, is, thatโs a poisoning. Thatโs murder. And thatโs what it felt like when I read the fentanyl. And Iโm like, what is fentanyl?โ
โA larger issue every single dayโ
Just the tiniest bit of fentanyl, two milligrams, is enough to kill the average person.
โItโs not just those that have a substance use disorder dying in this country. Everyoneโs children are dying. We have infants, we have toddlers, we have teenagers, young adults, those with substance use disorder, and those withoutโdying. You know, it affects everyone,โ said Drewes.
According to data from the North Carolina Division of Health and Human Services, in 2012, 140 people died from fentanyl state-wide. In 2021, the number skyrocketed to 3,117. The most-recent finalized data available comes from 2021, according to the department.
In Wake County in 2012, there was a more than 8,700% increase in deaths from fentanyl during that same time period.
In Durham County, there was an 8,900% increase in deaths from fentanyl from 2012 to 2021.
โWell, unfortunately, Mary, itโs becoming a larger issue every single day. And thatโs not an over-exaggeration. For example, last year, my deputies seized approximately 3.7, little less than four grams of fentanyl. And earlier this year, we have seized over 300 grams of fentanyl,โ said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.
At the sheriffโs office, evidence technicians handle suspected fentanyl in plastic bags. The โcontrolled contrabandโ was seized by the sheriffโs office. In the room with the evidence is Narcan, just in case.
โWeโve seized in pills. Weโve seized pill presses along with it. Itโs been laced. Marijuana is being laced with fentanyl. So, weโre seeing it in unimaginable places,โ said Sheriff Birkhead. โThis is an industry that is making money. Fentanyl is far cheaper than any other drug to manufacture or to make these days. We know that this is not just a North Carolina or East Coast problem. The precursors for fentanyl come from China. The drugs are coming up from the southern border. Theyโre coming across from the northern border, and theyโre just infiltrating cities all across the country. And unfortunately, it has made its way to Durham.โ
Provisional data from the CDC states in 2023, there were an estimated 74,702 deaths from synthetic opioids, which it says is primarily fentanyl. Thatโs down slightly from 76,226 in 2022. Provisional data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from June 2024 shows โfentanyl positiveโ deaths also trending downward. These are deaths where fentanyl was detected but the personโs official cause of death has not been ruled/determined.
Turning tragedy into advocacy
While there are reported decreases in deaths, Drewes tells us, there is so much work to do. After her daughterโs death, she founded โForgotten Victims of North Carolina,โ is one of two state representatives for the North Carolina chapter of Drug-Induced Homicide Foundation, and is the Vice President of โLost Voices of Fentanyl.โ
โWe are the largest fentanyl advocacy group in the country. We host a national event every year at the national monument, and we march to the white house,โ said Drewes.
Sometimes attending these advocacy events by her side is her daughterโs son. โShe was my only child so he will be my only grandchild and thatโs what I call him. Heโs my gift from God and Heaven.โ
(Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)
Drewes told CBS 17 she wants more people held accountable in these cases. In North Carolina, there is a criminal charge called death by distribution. However, she says no one has been charged in connection to her daughterโs death.
How to access naloxone, other resources in NC
In North Carolina, there is a statewide standing order for naloxone, commonly known by the brand name, โNarcan.โ It authorizes pharmacists to dispense naloxone to any person meeting the criteria.
Under this order, it is available without a prescription at most retail pharmacies in the state. It is also covered under most insurance policies. It is also available at local health departments and many syringe service programs.
According to preliminary SSP data from DHHS, more than 114,000 naloxone overdose rescue kits were distributed last year. For more information about naloxone and other statewide resources, visit the NCDHHS website or https://naloxonesaves.org/.
Imagine if your child went to sleep tonight, never to wake up in the morning. If you can’t, then share this video message.
SAVE A LIFE. The time is NOW. “Fentanyl, which is often hidden in counterfeit pills, is fueling the worst drug crisis in U.S. history. Last year the synthetic opioid killed more than 70,000 Americans.” -60 Minutes on CBS
Just Two Questions has created this video to tell Wilson Moore’s story and raise awareness of the risks of counterfeit pills in America.
Medical examiner Dr. Steven Campman told 60 Minutes that more than two doses of naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reverse opioid overdoses, might be necessary to save the life of someone who has overdosed on fentanyl. “60 Minutes” is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen’s Top 10.
See the original video clip and read the article on the 60 Minutes website.
Fentanyl, which is often hidden in counterfeit pills, is fueling the worst drug crisis in U.S. history. Last year the synthetic opioid killed more than 70,000 Americans.
Authorities mistook man with same last name as supplier, but never followed up after their error
A Candler womanโs overdose death three years ago led investigators to a North Carolina dealer peddling illegal drugs through the mail to addicts nationwide.
Rachel Scillitani, 29, died of a fentanyl overdose in her Candler apartment in May 2021. Seven months later, Danny Birch Jr, of Dubuque, Iowa, was dead of drugs from the same supplier suspected in Scillitaniโs death. // Photos provided by the Scillitani and Birch families
But the Buncombe County Sheriffโs Office investigated the wrong man and failed to pursue leads that could have put James Adam Earwood out of business, according to federal court testimony. Seven months later, in December 2021, an Iowa man died from fentanyl and heroin he bought from Earwood, who boasted of his โfirst confirmed killโ as evidence of his drugsโ potency.
Earwood of Rutherfordton had been identified as a likely supplier of the fentanyl that killed Rachel Scillitani, 29, in her Candler apartment in May 2021. But Buncombe sheriffโs detectives interviewed and cleared another man with the same last name, Special Agent Bryce Husak of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service testified at an April federal court hearing.
โIt is your testimony today that they were actually investigating the wrong Adam Earwood?โ a prosecutor asked.
โCorrect,โ Husak responded.
There was no follow-up investigation of the right Earwood or effort to determine his whereabouts around the time Scillitani bought the fentanyl and died, nor were records on a payment app she used to buy drugs subpoenaed, the agent testified.
Members of Moms on a Mission and the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina gather outside the Wilson County Courthouse to show support for families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl overdose.ย Drew C. Wilson | Times
Two organizations for families who have lost children to fentanyl overdose came together in a show of solidarity Tuesday as a defendant charged with death by distribution made a brief appearance in Wilson County Criminal Superior Court.
Members of Wilsonโs Moms on a Mission and the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina sat in the courtroom as defendant Albert Green, 23, of Wilson, appeared with his attorney, Will Farris.
Green is charged with felony death by distribution in the fatal overdose of 17-year-old Jacob Puente Castro, who died Sept. 25.
Green faces additional charges including felony selling and delivering a Schedule II controlled substance, felony possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, felony maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for the purpose of controlled substances and felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell, deliver a Schedule II controlled substance.