Community unites at Beaufort forum to address rising fentanyl crisis in Carteret County

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

More than 50 community members gathered at the Beaufort Train Depot Saturday to discuss the deadly impact of fentanyl in Carteret County. During the forum, Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas, and other local officials received the Save Lives Together Award for their ongoing fight against fentanyl trafficking.

Families at the event shared personal stories about losing loved ones to fentanyl, highlighting the community’s urgent fight against the deadly drug.

One of those was Barbara Walsh who lost her Daughter to the deadly drug.

“Itโ€™s important for the families who lost a loved one to know that what their community is doing to keep someone else from dying,” said Walsh.

And In Carteret County alone, fentanyl overdoses have claimed 168 lives from 2013 through 2023.

According to Carteret County Sherriff Asa Buck a trend decreasing over the years.

“These cases are not different someone committed an act they provided a drug to someone caused them to lose their life and we investigate that just like a homicide and we prosecute those offenders just like we would if they would have killed somebody with a knife or a gun, ” said Sheriff Asa Buck

Man charged for deadly drug overdose in Kannapolis

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Alex Horne, 27, is charged with death by distribution in connection to the death of Rodney Anthony.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. โ€” Police have arrested a suspect after a man died from an opioid overdose in April 2024.

Alex Horne, 27, is charged with death by distribution. He is accused of supplying drugs to Rodney Anthony, who died of an opioid overdose.

Anthony died on Fir Avenue on April 20, 2024, according to the Kannapolis Police Department. It took nearly a year after Anthony’s death to identify Horne as the suspect.

Horne was arrested on Tuesday. He is being held with a $750,000 bond in Cabarrus County jail. His next court date is April 9.

Morehead City man charged in OD death

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MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WITN) – A man has been charged with the overdose death of a woman last summer in Morehead City.

Morehead City police say Bryan Mace was arrested last Thursday on charges of death by distribution, possession with the intent to sell and deliver a Schedule II controlled substance, and delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance.

Police say Kaitlyn Curry died from an overdose last July. An arrest warrant said Mace delivered fentanyl to the 36-year-old woman

Mace was already in jail for related drug charges. His bond was increased by $750,000 due to these additional charges.

Woman found guilty of felony death charge following overdose investigation

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HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (FOX Carolina) – The District Attorneyโ€™s Office for Prosecutorial District 42 reports that a woman was found guilty after a victim died from ingesting Fentanyl in 2023.

Heather Marie Maybin, 38, from Hendersonville, was found guilty of death by distribution.

The court trial record said that Maybin was a drug dealer who conducted her controlled substances activities over Facebook Messenger.

A transaction she arranged in the Walmart parking lot located off Highland Square Drive on Feb. 6, 2023, involved a quantity of fentanyl sold for $40, the court trial record said.


The investigation revealed the victim and a friend ingested the drug that evening through a hypodermic needle. The victim lost consciousness, stopped breathing and was later declared to have died from Fentanyl toxicity

PREVIOUS: Woman facing felony death charges following overdose investigation

The Henderson County Sheriffโ€™s Office used a search warrant to obtain communications received through Facebook Messenger, court records said.

Maybin was sentenced to a minimum term of 66 months and a maximum term of 92 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

District Attorney Andrew Murray said โ€œMy office, along with our dedicated and professional partners, is committed to ridding our community of fentanyl by holding drug dealers accountable for these untimely and extremely tragic deaths.โ€

Rutherford County man arrested during drug bust earlier this week now faces murder charge

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A man arrested during a drug bust earlier this week is now facing a murder charge for his alleged involvement in an overdose death.

On May 27, 2024, deputies with the Rutherford County Sheriffโ€™s Office were dispatched to a residence on Highland Avenue in reference to a possible cardiac arrest that appeared to be an overdose.

Upon arrival, deputies found the victim, Johnathon Pruitt, deceased inside the home.

On Monday, Rutherford County investigators began investigating a home on Harris Henrietta Road in Mooresville due to multiple narcotics complaints.

During the investigation, authorities spotted 63-year-old Kenneth Ray Melton leaving the home on foot. Investigators spoke with Melton and he gave consent for investigators to search him. Law enforcement found multiple baggies of fentanyl on Melton.

Melton was arrested and charged with the following:

  • Possession with intent to manufacture sell and distribute a Schedule II controlled substance
  • Maintaining a dwelling for controlled substance
  • Possession of methamphetamine
  • Possession of drug paraphernalia

Wilmington man charged for allegedly causing fatal overdose in Pender County

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PENDER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – A Wilmington man has been arrested in connection to a death by distribution investigation in Pender County.

The Pender County Sheriffโ€™s Office (PCSO) says Anthony Quinn Marshall has been charged for allegedly causing the death of Jessica Kelly of Currie, NC.

Deputies and Pender Emergency Services responded to Blueberry Road where they found Kelly unconscious. Responders attempted life-saving measures but were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead.

โ€œThrough investigation, detectives concluded that the cause of death was due to a fatal overdose,โ€ a PCSO representative wrote in a press release.

Marshall was arrested on Feb. 24 and placed in the Pender County Jail under a $250,000 secured bond.

According to his arrest warrant, he was charged with death by distribution, sell/deliver cocaine, sell Sch II controlled substances, possession with the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver (PWIMSD) cocaine, PWIMSD Sch II controlled substances, manufacture Sch II controlled substances, manufacture cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Families who lost loved ones to opioid crisis welcome Stein’s call for Fentanyl Control Unit

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RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — There’s a renewed push to get deadly drugs off of North Carolina’s streets. At last night’s State of the State address, Governor Josh Stein once again called for the creation of a Fentanyl Control Unit.

The task force would be comprised of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to find the illegal drug and go after those distributing it.

“Too many North Carolinians are like Debbie – parents, siblings, spouses, children, and friends who will never get their loved one back,” Stein remarked in his speech.

Governor Stein invited Debbie Dalton as one of his guests of honor to Wednesday’s address. The Charlotte mom lost her son, Hunter, to fentanyl in 2016.

Debbie Dalton, Husband, Son Hunter (middle)

On Thursday, ABC11 spoke with Debbie, who described the moment she received a standing ovation on the House floor.

“It was so surreal and so incredibly special. I’m humbled,” she said.

Debbie met Stein not long after Hunter died in 2016 and has used the last 8-plus years to advocate for the dangers of opioids. Their connection became so strong that she shared her story in a series of campaign ads for the Governor in the fall. Debbie said his memory still fuels her work on the issue.

Gov. Stein, Debbie Dalton

“We need more Hunters in the world,” Dalton said. “He was this great young man, and he could be contributing. While he made a bad decision that night, you’re not supposed to suffer that sort of consequence for your decision.”

For local anti-fentanyl advocates like Barb Walsh — who founded the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina — the establishment of a Fentanyl Control Unit is many years in the making.

“To me, it’s a continuation of the fight against fentanyl and his support of the over 18,000 devastated families who have a loved one who’s been killed by fentanyl,” Walsh said.

Walsh lost her daughter, Sophia, to fentanyl in August of 2021 and has since worked with lawmakers to getย new legislation passed, including a bill making it easier for prosecutors to go after people who sell bad drugs. She believes the time for bipartisan action on the issue is now.

Sophia Walsh



“This is not a red issue or blue issue. Fentanyl does not discriminate in who it kills,” Walsh said.

Stein’s remarks were met with bipartisan applause during last night’s address. The possibility of funding a possible Fentanyl Control Unit will likely arise during budget negotiations.

Woman dies from fentanyl in N.C., man charged

Read the original article on the 10OnYourSide WAVY website.

PASQUOTANK, N.C. (WAVY) โ€” A man in North Carolina was charged in the death of a woman after she died from fentanyl ingestion.

On July 2, 2024, around 4 p.m., deputies with the Pasquotank County Sheriffโ€™s Office and EMS responded to the 700 block of Egan Lane in Elizabeth City. Crews arrived and attempted life-saving measures on an unconscious and unresponsive woman, but were unsuccessful.

29-year-old Jessica Modlin was pronounced dead at the scene. It was determined that fentanyl was the cause of death.

On Jan. 30, 2025, investigators with the Pasquotank County Sheriffโ€™s Office arrested and charged Dontae Williams with death by distribution.

Dontae Williams is currently in the custody of Albemarle District Jail under a $1 million secure bond.

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