Man arrested after 39-year-old dies from overdose in Union County, police say

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MONROE, N.C. (WBTV) – A man was arrested after a 39-year-old died from an overdose in Union County in March, according to police.

Records showed 52-year-old Fredrick Bivens was charged with death by distribution on Saturday, June 28, and given a $1 million bond.

What happened

On March 4, police said they responded to calls for an unresponsive person at a home along Broome Street in Monroe.

Upon arrival, officers said they found Jerry Deese suffering from a medical emergency, and โ€œdespite rapid intervention and lifesaving efforts,โ€ he was pronounced dead.

His death was later determined to be the result of a drug overdose, according to police.

Investigation leads to Bivensโ€™ arrest

After an โ€œextensive investigation,โ€ officers said they identified Bivens as being responsible for supplying the drugs that led to Deeseโ€™s death.

Authorities advised that shortly after identifying Bivens as a suspect, he was apprehended and placed in the Union County Detention Center.

โ€œLet this case serve as a clear message: if you distribute deadly drugs in our community, you will be held accountable,โ€ said Chief Rhett Bolen. โ€œMy department remains fully committed to aggressively pursuing those who profit from narcotics and ensuring they face the consequences of their actions.โ€

Man charged with supplying deadly dose of fentanyl

Read the original article on the Sampson Independent website.

Sampson Independent

A fentanyl overdose that killed a Clinton woman earlier this year has led to the arrest of a 32-year-old man who authorities believe supplied the drug that took her life.

Christopher Trevon Graham, of Clinton, was taken into custody late Tuesday and charged with multiple felonies related to the womanโ€™s death. The arrest, noted Sheriffโ€™s Capt. Marcus Smith, came on the heels of a months-long county probe into the overdose and a review of the charges Friday by the District Attorneyโ€™s Office, which gave the go-ahead to make the arrest.

Graham was arrested on outstanding warrants for two counts death by distribution of certain controlled substances and possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute a Schedule II controlled substance.

The probe, Smith said, began in March 2025 in partnership with the FBI after the Clinton woman died from an apparent fentanyl overdose.

Evidence gathered during that investigation, the captain said, identified Graham as the supplier of the fatal dose.

Graham was located Tuesday in a vehicle on Bonnetsville Road and taken into custody without incident.

He has a prior record that includes multiple felony conviction related to firearms and narcotics trafficking.

Graham is currently being held without bond in the Sampson County Detention Center and is expected to make a first appearance on those charges later this week.

โ€œThis arrest underscores our agencyโ€™s continued commitment to identify and prosecute those responsible for distributing dangerous drugs in our community,โ€ noted Sheriff Jimmy Thornton in a prepared statement. โ€œWe will not stop pursuing individuals who profit from poisoning our citizens.โ€

Information from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner notes that over 1,900 overdose deaths in 2024 were attributed to use of fentanyl.

Statewide, the information noted, communities continue to face rising threats from unregulated and deadly mixtures of illicit substances.

The Death by Distribution Law, enacted in 2019 and revised in 2023, allows law enforcement officers and prosecutors to hold drug suppliers accountable for overdose deaths.

The charge against Graham is classified as a Class B1 to Class C felony in North Carolina punishable by a potential prison sentence of 10 to 30 years.

โ€œThe Sampson County Sheriffโ€™s Office remains committed to working with state and federal partners to aggressively combat drug trafficking and safeguard the health and safety of its residents,โ€ attested Smith.

Havelock woman extradited from Pennsylvania on death by distribution charge

Read the original article on the WNCT News9 website.

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) โ€” Detectives with the Carteret County Sheriffโ€™s Office extradited a woman from Pittsburgh, Pa. in connection to a drug overdose death.

Aryanna Marquise Carter, 29, of Havelock, was charged in connection to the death of Tyler Lee Hall, 22, of Newport, in April of 2021.

Hall died from methamphetamine and fentanyl toxicity. Carter was arrested May 5, 2024 in Pennsylvania on an unrelated weapon charge.

Carter is charged with selling and delivering a schedule II controlled substance and felony death by distribution. Carter was jailed in the Carteret County Detention Center under a $470,000 bond.

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