State News Archives - Page 44 of 46 - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

Drug bust with enough fentanyl to kill millions has NC connection

Enough fentanyl to kill nearly 3 million people was seized in two separate drug busts with connections to North Carolina this past month.

The fentanyl crisis is at an all-time high, with the southern border crisis intensifying since the Biden Administration took office in 2021.

The first and biggest bust occurred on Oct. 12 when Mario Alberto Castro Solache, 29, of Raleigh; Pedro Mondragon, 27, of Lillington; and Ignacio Rodriguez, 28, Bradenton, Florida, were arrested in connection to the largest drug bust in the history of Polk County, Florida.

Florida officials announced the arrests on Oct. 22.

Investigators seized 11 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill 2.7 million people.

Operation Hot Dirt began in September when detectives were tipped off to drug traffickers’ plans to smuggle fentanyl from Mexico to Bradenton, Florida, and then into Polk County.

Read the full article on the Carolina Journal web site.

Man charged from Hillsborough woman’s opioid overdose

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — A man was arrested in connection with an opioid overdose in May.

Walter Wrenn of Efland was arrested on a charge of felony death by distribution on Friday.

Wrenn, 36, was already incarcerated in the Orange County Jail for unrelated charges. Wrenn is being held under a $100,000 secured bond.

Read the full story on the WRAL 5 web site.

Onslow County Sheriff’s Office seizes five pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill thousands

The lives of thousands of Onslow County residents have now been saved with the seizure of about five pounds of fentanyl.

The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for a domestic-related incident at Eider Loop Road in Jacksonville on Sept. 20, according to a recent news release. Upon executing a search warrant, investigators located 2.5 kilos of fentanyl, over 40 pounds of marijuana, two rifles, three handguns and about $10,000.

OCSO Chief Deputy Colonel Chris Thomas said in an email that the amount of fentanyl seized could have easily killed thousands of Onslow County residents, though it’s hard to estimate as it depends on the dosage an individual would use and how it is cut. He added a dosage unit is about .01 grams and a kilogram has 1,000 grams.

Read the full article on the Jacksonville Daily News web site or on Yahoo!

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Lincolnton Woman Indicted in Connection to Fatal Overdose in Maiden

23-year-old Madison Dare Winslow of River Meadows Court in Lincolnton was arrested by Maiden Police on September 21 on multiple felony controlled substance charges. Winslow was served with indictments for death by distribution, four counts of conspiracy to traffic in opium or heroin, possession of a schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver, and maintaining a vehicle, dwelling, or place for a controlled substance. She was also charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Lincolnton Police assisted in the arrest.

Read the full article on the WHKY web site.

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Substance use disorder stigma impacts individuals, families

Lori Ashenfelder, whose son died last year from fentanyl, said substance use and its impact on a family are very difficult to talk about.

“You tend to stay isolated, a lot more than you normally would,” she said. “For me, it was a lot about staying in the shadows, staying in the background, don’t talk about it.”

Last Thursday, the CARE Coalition of Transylvania County hosted“Transylvania CARES: Stories of Addiction and Hope” at the library to share the many unexpected ways substance use disorder stigma impacts the lives of individuals and their families.

Read the full article on the Transylvania Times web site.

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Robeson County mother charged after 3-year-old son died of fentanyl overdose

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WMBF) – A North Carolina woman has been arrested in connection to her three-year-old son’s death.

The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said 32-year-old Ana Latoria Jones is charged with second-degree murder and felony child abuse after her son died of a fentanyl overdose earlier this year. She was arrested Wednesday.

Read the full article on the WMBF web site. Additional coverage can be found in the Charlotte Observer article.

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Woman arrested in connection with drug overdose in Sanford

SANFORD, N.C. — A woman was charged Wednesday with death by distribution years after a man who suffered a drug overdose was found dead in the woods.

On Sept. 28, 2020, deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a Sanford home after receiving a call about a missing person. Deputies searched land and water around the home for Cory Dale Moore, 32, but were unsuccessful.

Read article and watch video clip on WRAL web site or the article on the CBS17 web site.

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Illicit Fentanyl PSA

PSA from Matthew’s Voice created by Basis Creative Films to educate the public about illicit fentanyl.

Carolina Journal’s Donna King discusses N.C. parents raising concerns about fentanyl

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses N.C. parents’ participation in a Washington, D.C, rally about the dangers of fentanyl. King offered these comments during the Sept. 23, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”