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NC coast fentanyl dealer gets 15 years after wild 120+ mph chase, fiery crash with 2 kids in car, officials say

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Officials said Monday that a North Carolina man was sentenced in a fentanyl operation that continued even after his arrest in a 120 mph car chase with two children that led to a fiery crash.

*Daquan Wainwright along with some of the illegal items found in the home he shared with co-defendant London Kebe, deputies say. Onslow County Sheriff’s Office photos*

Daquan Wainwright, 26, of Onslow County was eventually busted on drug charges when deputies responded to his home for a domestic dispute, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Even after his eventual arrest, Wainwright ordered others to collect the drug debts owed to him and give the money to his mother, officials said.

Wainwright was first busted in March 2022 and authorities ended his fentanyl trafficking six months later — thanks to a search of a house in which the woman he lived lied about children being home, officials said.

Fentanyl was found in a pitcher (top left) during a search of Wainwright’s home, located about 7 miles from the beaches of Onslow County, deputies said. Onslow County Sheriff’s Office photo

Wainwright, with London Kebe, as a co-defendant, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl while armed with firearms, a Monday U.S. Attorney’s Office news release said.

A 2021 Audi luxury car was seized during his eventual arrest, deputies said.

Officials first began looking into Wainwright after police and deputies received around 15 complaints about him selling drugs in Onslow County, the news release said.

On March 1, 2022, Wainwright — with two children in his car — led cops on a 120 mph chase before crashing into a ditch. The car erupted in flames, but no one was injured, officials said.

Some of the 40 pounds of marijuana found in a search of Wainwright and London Kebe’s home, deputies said. Onslow County Sheriff’s Office photo

But from the charred car wreckage deputies found 681 grams of marijuana in the car, officials said.

After that, an investigation into Wainwright’s criminal activities continued with a sting buy of two ounces of fentanyl from Wainwright, officials said.

But, Wainwright’s criminal enterprise only came to an end with a lie about children during a domestic dispute on Sept. 29, 2022, the news release said.

After being called about the domestic matter, deputies arrived at the Eider Loop Road home of Kebe and Wainwright. Kebe opened the door, and deputies immediately smelled the odor of marijuana in the house, located south of Jacksonville, officials said.

Deputies tried to take Kebe into custody on an active warrant but she claimed there were children in the home. Authorities searched the house but found no children.

However, officials said they did find:

2+ kilograms of fentanyl
40 pounds of marijuana
drug paraphernalia
a loaded Highpoint handgun
a loaded AR-15 rifle
a stolen 9mm handgun
a rifle with an obliterated serial number
another 9mm loaded handgun
several rounds of ammunition
nearly $15,000 in cash

As deputies were at the house, Wainwright drove by the home several times and was eventually arrested there.

He tried to destroy his phone as he was being handcuffed but officials said they were able to locate pictures and other evidence in the phone of drug trafficking and firearm possession.

“After he was in custody, Wainwright continued to direct others to collect debts owed to him for drugs and provide the payment to his mother,” the news release said.

The Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Police Department, and the DEA investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan oversaw the guilty plea agreement.

Man arrested for selling drugs linked to 2023 overdose in Carrboro

Read the original article on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Jerimiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma, is charged with death by distribution and selling a Schedule II controlled substance.

Carrboro police arrested a man Wednesday and charged him in connection with another man’s overdose death.

Jerimiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma, is charged with death by distribution and selling a Schedule II controlled substance.

Carrboro police said Hargrove sold a controlled substance to Serguei Ndinga Momo, who died of an overdose on June 27, 2023, at the age of 21.

Police said the substance was the cause of Momo’s death.

Authorities are holding Hargrove at the Wayne County Jail on an $80,000 bond.

Police urged people to call 911 if someone is overdosing.

North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law allows for people to report an overdose – their own or someone else’s – without fear of criminal prosecution.

‘Secret fentanyl lab’ found in Fayetteville home sends armed trafficker to prison

Read the original article on the CBS 17 News website.

A high-capacity pill press sits on a washing machine in a Fayetteville home. (Courtesy USDOJ)

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — What began as a Fayetteville police investigation ended in federal charges, a 27-year prison sentence, and more than six pounds of fentanyl taken out of circulation.

Quavion Maurice Pickett, 30, became the focus of an investigation after a “confidential informant” tipped off Fayetteville police in April 2022 to his role involvement in distributing drugs, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. on Wednesday.

Pickett, a.k.a. “Q,” is a resident of Rock Hill, S.C., and has a residence in Fayetteville where police began surveilling after the tip. After observing what appeared to be multiple drug transactions, a search warrant was issued.

While in the home, officers discovered the laundry room was being used as a “secret fentanyl lab”, the USDOJ release said. The makeshift lab was described as being used as a counterfeit pill-making operation. The fentanyl pills seized were pressed with markings of “A215”, which was to give the appearance of being 30-milligram doses of oxycodone hydrochloride, Easley said.

Wilson County man charged in overdose death

Read the original article on the WITN News website.

WILSON COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – A Wilson County man is behind bars charged with an overdose death.

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office arrested 35-year-old Devonty Pitt and charged him with felony aggravated death by distribution of controlled substances.

The sheriff’s office began investigating back in May when deputies and detectives responded to the overdose death of 33-year-old Cierra Parker Barnes.

Investigators say it was determined that Pitt supplied the toxic narcotics that led to the fatal overdose.

Pitt has had several previous possession with intent to sell and distribute charges for substances such as heroin and cocaine and is also a convicted felon due to these charges.

He is in the Edgecombe County Detention Center under no bond.

Harnett man accused of poisoning 4 people

Alleged crimes leave 12 without a parent

Read the original article on the Daily Record website.

A Harnett County man with a history of law enforcement interaction for the past 20 years has been indicted by a grand jury for distributing fentanyl that killed four people on the morning of March 28, 2020.

The jury returned a true bill of indictment on Feb. 26 charging Gerard LaSalle McLean, 37, of 446 Raynor McLamb Road, Bunnlevel, with four counts each of death by distribution and aggravated death by distribution.

“There were two scenes,” explained Harnett County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Aaron Meredith. The first victim, Shannon Lynette McLean, was located at 112 Blake St. in Lillington at 12:49 a.m. Three other victims were found dead in a car located at 242 Nutgrass Road in Bunnlevel at 7:37 a.m.

“There were others who overdosed at both locations and survived,” Meredith shared.

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Burgaw man sentenced for possessing counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl

Read the original article on the WECT6 News website.

BURGAW, N.C. (WECT) – A Burgaw man was sentenced to 16 and a half years in prison for possessing counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl to distribute them in Wilmington.

Timothy Mark Blackmon, 29, pled guilty on August 15, 2023, to the charges involving pills that were made to look like Percocet, Hydrocodone and Oxycodone.

“Counterfeit pills laced with deadly fentanyl are made in makeshift labs with no quality control. They are driving American addiction and overdoses at a staggering rate,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Never take a pill that wasn’t prescribed by your doctor. It could be your last. This defendant hid fentanyl pills in a bag of M&Ms and stashed thousands of pills in air vents in his home. The DEA and Pender County Sheriff’s Office did incredible work getting these pills off the street and may have saved lives.”

Per court documents, officers in November of 2021 received information that Blackmon was distributing the pills and learned he would travel to California to purchase the pills, then ship them through the U.S. Postal Service back to Eastern North Carolina.

Officers located him on Nov. 18, 2021, at the San Diego Airport about to board a plane back to North Carolina. He had 5,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills, more than $7000 in cash, and a USPS receipt for a package that had been shipped on November 16, 2021. The pills were concealed in a package that contained toys and candy, including some pills hidden in a bag of candy.

“On November 19, 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Pender County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Blackmon’s residence during which law enforcement seized more than 11,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills concealed in air vents in Blackmon’s bedroom, over $87,000 in cash, and a small amount of cocaine. Flight records for Blackmon obtained by law enforcement also confirmed repeated trips to California and Arizona from March of 2021 through November of 2021. Information presented to the Court established that Blackmon would travel to California approximately once a month to purchase approximately 5,000-10,000 fentanyl pills from his source of supply and have them shipped back to North Carolina for further distribution. A DEA analysis of the pills found in the search confirmed the presence of fentanyl,” court documents stated.

“Large-scale” fentanyl dealer arrested after two-month undercover drug investigation in Selma, Johnston County deputies say

Read the original article and watch the video on the CBS17 website.

SELMA, N.C. (WNCN) — Agents with the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office narcotics division and STAR team put a huge drug case behind them this week.

According to deputies, numerous agents pulled up to 720 Campground Road Wednesday to execute a search warrant at the home. Inside were two adults and one child, including the subject of the investigation, 29-year-old Rashid Campbell. No one else in the residence were criminally charged.

Deputies say approximately 6,000 fentanyl pills were seized during the arrest, with a street value of $125,000. More pills were seized in numerous purchases in their two-month undercover investigation.

Additionally, deputies say they located three firearms, cash, and a money counting machine inside the home.

Campbell, who is a convicted felon, was arrested for numerous firearm and drug charges. They include multiple counts of trafficking in opium or heroin as well as possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver.

Campbell appeared in court Friday for the charges, where his bond was set by the clerk for $2.5 million.

Man charged with death by distribution after woman dies from drugs he sold to her, deputies say

Read the original article on the WFMY News 2 website.

DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — Six months after a woman died by an overdose, Davidson County Sheriff’s Office said it has arrested the person who supplied her the drugs.

The investigation began on January 28, when deputies said they responded to the death of an adult female in the Wallburg community. Then in July, detectives received toxicology results from the state medical examiner’s office that confirmed the death was due to fentanyl.

As a result, detectives arrested 47-year-old Wayne Phillips on July 26. He was charged with one count of death by distribution.

Phillips was ordered to be held at the Davidson County Detention Center.

Man Indicted for Allegedly Selling 2 Tons of Fentanyl

Read the original article and watch the video on NTD.com.

The Justice Department indicted a Chinese national Monday for allegedly importing 4,000 pounds of fentanyl precursors into the United States. It’s one of the largest fentanyl seizures to date. The chemicals are enough to make pills that could kill millions of Americans.

Woman convicted in Death by Distribution Case in Carteret County

BEAUFORT, N.C. (WNCT) — A 42-year-old woman pled guilty to death by distribution of controlled substances in the death of 30-year-old Pawnee Schmitz.

Carteret County Sheriff’s deputies found Schmitz’s phone at the scene and found conversations regarding drug purchases with multiple individuals the night before Schmitz’s death.

Search warrants for Schmitz’s phone records resulted in the arrest of three people including Melissa Mastropierro. Mastropierro, 42, of Atlantic, was sentenced to just more than five years to eight years in prison.

According to District Attorney Scott Thomas, on May 29, 2023, Carteret County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to Community Road in Davis. Schmitz’s father made the call to law enforcement, reporting that he found Schmitz lying prone and unconscious on the bathroom floor. EMS arrived to find Schmitz deceased.

Drug paraphernalia and two small bags of methamphetamine and fentanyl were discovered close to Schmitz’s body, according to the sheriff’s office. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was from methamphetamine and fentanyl toxicity.

Read the article on the WNCT News9 website.