A federal indictment was unsealed yesterday charging 25 defendants in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy, according to Middle District of North Carolina United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston.
The indictment, which followed a two-year investigation, charges the individuals involved with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine hydrochloride in multiple counties in North Carolina, including Guilford, Randolph, Durham, and Montgomery counties.
If convicted, individual defendants face penalties ranging from up to 20 years, five years to 40 years, or 10 years to life, for narcotics conspiracy, distribution and possession with intent to distribute – depending on the drug amounts involved in the offenses.
SANFORD, N.C. (WNCN) — A father and son were arrested and charged with trafficking opioids after a traffic stop Thursday.
Lee County sheriff’s deputies made the traffic stop on Greenwood Road which is about 8 miles south of Sanford as part of an active drug investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies found about 2.2 pounds of fentanyl in the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.
Robert Bernard Fox Sr., 54, and his son, Robert Bernard Fox II, 23, were arrested and both charged with the following:
Trafficking Opioid by Transport,
Trafficking Opioid by Possession,
Possess with Intent to Sell and Deliver Schedule II Controlled Substance,
Maintaining a Vehicle for the Sale of Narcotics, and
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
The pair were brought before a Lee County Magistrate and were issued $250,000 secured bonds.
As a result of this traffic stop, narcotics agents, assisted by the Sanford Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, executed a search warrant in the 800 block of McKenzie Park Drive.
During the search warrant, agents found Shondell Rasheed Bethea, 25, inside the residence.
Bethea was wanted for failing to appear in court on charges of possessing with intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine, larceny of a motor vehicle, and two counts of breaking and entering.
Bethea was found to be in possession of two firearms, one of which was entered stolen by the Sanford Police Department, the sheriff’s office said.
The campaign’s name uses slang in an effort to target young people and their families, according to CMPD. The main goal of this campaign is to prevent overdose deaths through education with younger people who are unaware of the risks of fentanyl. CMPD says it has seen a 20% increase in confirmed fentanyl overdoses this year compared to 2022. The majority of those deaths (60%) are people who were younger than 40.
On November 1, 2023 Barbara Walsh presented the history and mission of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina to the Wake County Overdose Coalition.
On March 9, 2023, a freshman from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill overdosed on fentanyl outside a Duke University dorm.
She died in a hospital two days later, surrounded by family and friends, according to her obituary.
Very few people knew about her death, until a Duke student journalist started investigating, learning that 19-year-old Grace Burton wasn’t the only UNC student or alum to recently die from fentanyl poisoning.
She wasn’t even the only one to lose her life to an overdose that week. Now federal agents say the same person supplied the drugs to both students.
Duke student and journalist Charlotte Kramon heard about Burton’s on-campus death and figured more information would come out publicly.
But, she says, “There was no announcement; there were very few people outside of some of those who were close to the situation that knew.”
Kramon started looking into the death and charges related to it, publishing her findings along with co-author Michael Hewlett in the online magazine The Assembly.
CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Since 2013, over 15,000 North Carolinians have died from fentanyl poisoning, with 886 of those deaths occurring in the Cape Fear.
To spread awareness and help families heal, the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina held its 3rd Family Summit of 2023 in Carolina Beach, with the previous 2 having been held in Raleigh and Boone.
More than a dozen families came out for the summit to learn more about what they can do to continue fighting for their loved ones to receive justice.
Additionally, several parents and siblings shared their stories of what happened to their loved ones.
The network’s executive director Barb Walsh lost her daughter Sophia to fentanyl poisoning after she unintentionally drank a contaminated bottle of water.
Walsh said being able to learn more about fentanyl helped her and will also help the families of it’s victims.
“I went down into a black hole like all these families do and it takes a while and some people never come back out,” Walsh said. “But when I did, I knew that I needed to know more about fentanyl, I needed to learn about the laws and many of these families helped get this law passed.”
Walsh was glad to see so many families come to the summit as Sophia’s death is what drove her to join the Fentanyl Victims Network.
“This is very healing, it’s healing for me to be able to help other families.”
Kami Perez lost her daughter after she took a xanax pill given to her that had more than 13 milligrams of fentanyl in it.
While this was Perez’ first summit, she hopes to be able to help other families when they come to future summits.
“I want to be able to be that voice for her and to others who may also be a victim as well, because they don’t have any voices, they can’t have that voice anymore,” Perez said. “So I’m standing in the gap for them to be that advocate, to be able to bring more attention to, I feel like, is an epidemic.”
North Carolina recently passed Senate Bill 189, which strengthens penalties for individuals found guilty of distributing controlled substances which result in a fatal overdose. Two individuals in the Cape Fear have been charged with death by distribution since the bill was passed.
Despite the state cracking down on people who deal deadly drugs, holding those responsible remains difficult.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Fentanyl claims the lives of about 12 North Carolinians every day.
Death by distribution laws hold the dealers accountable if users die, but it’s not as simple as tracking the dealer down.
New Hanover and Pender County district attorney Ben David says most cases involving death by distribution don’t go to trial, often because the nature of the crime doesn’t leave much evidence.
“The best victim can’t tell you what happened. And so, we have to try these like any homicide, relying on things like digital footprints and witness interviews,” David said.
David says because they need evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, investigations can take months, sometimes even more than a year, before charges are filed. It’s worth it to the families who have lost someone.
“Everyone’s someone’s baby. And we know that this epidemic is visiting houses across our district. And we are going to go wherever we can to make sure that justice is being done,” he said.
Part of that justice is stiffer penalties, such as murder charges for the dealer if the user dies.
David isn’t buying it when someone says they didn’t know the drugs were laced.
“No one can claim, at this point, that they’re unaware that fentanyl is deadly. And if they are mixing that into drugs or are selling it in a pure form to begin with, they should not be surprised when their best customers are dying,” David said. “They should not be surprised when we try to put them into prison for murder and nothing less.”
David wants people to know that North Carolinians are protected under immunity to call 9-1-1 in the case of an emergency, even if it involves illegal drugs. It can save lives.
Raleigh police said Christen Lee Neubert, 40, has been charged in connection with the drug overdose death of Maureen Walsh, 55.
A woman has been arrested and charged in connection with a fatal overdose from February.
Raleigh police said Christen Lee Neubert has been charged in connection with the drug overdose death of 55-year-old Maureen Walsh.
On Thursday, WRAL News obtained a toxicology report for Walsh that indicated methamphetamines and amphetamines were in her system when she died. Methamphetamines are considered a street drug, which is typically made in a lab illegally, whereas amphetamines are usually prescription medications like adderall and ritalin.
Neubert, 40, has been charged with murder. Neubert has pending charges for possessing methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia with two probation violations.
Toxicology results, obtained by WRAL News, showed Walsh had methamphetamines and amphetamines in her system when she died.
Homicide charges in drug overdose cases are rare in North Carolina and difficult to prosecute, according to attorney Daniel Meier.
“How much of your actions caused the death versus the actions of the person who died and who should be responsible for that?” Meier said.
There would also have to be enough evidence to prove one person was directly tied to someone’s death.
“If I sell to Bob who sells to Jane who sells to Sue who sells to Dave and Dave dies, how far up the chain can you go as to who did it,” Meier said.
North Carolina’s “death by distribution” law holds drug dealers liable for murder if their drugs cause someone’s death, even if they didn’t intend to kill anyone.
WRAL asked Raleigh Police if Neubert faced a death by distribution charge. It’s still unclear.
They said: “We charged her with homicide due to evidence that directly links her to contributing to her death.”
North Carolina has changed its “death by distribution” law to make it easier to charge drug dealers with murder in overdose cases, even if they didn’t sell the drugs for money. The new law takes effect in December, but it’s not clear if it will lead to more prosecutions.
“District attorneys ultimately have the say,” Meier said.
Neubert has pending charges for meth and drug paraphernalia, as well as two probation violations.
On Thursday, the judge informed Neubert about the charges against her and told her they would appoint a capital defender to represent her. Her next court date is set for Nov. 2 at 9 a.m.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Alex Bradford was about to finish his sophomore year at UNCW when tragedy struck.
At just 19 years old, Alex fell victim to deadly fentanyl poisoning after ingesting fentanyl through drugs he bought from a fellow classmate. He passed away in March of 2022.
“Alex suffered the same pressures as many college students do with mental health, and unknowingly ingested illicit fentanyl because he chose to self-medicate,” Jeremy Bradford, Alex’s father, said.
Now, after months of suffering and grief, Jeremy and Alex’s Mother, Millisa, started 2 Out Rally, a foundation to honor Alex’s legacy and bring awareness to the harmful impacts of fentanyl. The name was inspired by Alex’s love for baseball.
A quote from the 2 Out Rally website says, “2 Out Rally….even in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, there is still time to RALLY. 1 at bat can change the outcome of the game. 1 moment can change your LIFE. NEVER give up, show love and compassion, it could save a life.”
Now, the Bradfords have partnered with Barb Walsh, founder of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, to include Alex in a series of digital billboards across New Hanover County. Walsh is also personally affected by fentanyl, as her daughter, Sophia, passed away from fentanyl poisoning in 2021.
Together, the team has included Alex’s image and story as part of the 13 victims displayed on the billboards. Walsh says she hopes these billboards will inspire other family members of fentanyl poisoning victims to come forward and seek support. She believes that together, they can rally to end the fentanyl epidemic so that no other family has to suffer.
“Those billboards are a public messaging system. They’re a PSA. I want to replicate what the Bradford’s have done because we’re not going to win this if we only work by ourselves,” Walsh said.
But this battle is far from over.
“You’re literally playing Russian roulette if you’re choosing to utilize drugs that you don’t know could be laced with fentanyl. Alex didn’t know,” Bradford said. “It’s really to bring a face to the epidemic, because it doesn’t matter your economic background, your status, how you were raised, your religious belief, fentanyl does not discriminate.”
The locations of the 6 public safety billboards in New Hanover County are:
