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Durham man charged with death by distribution in overdose case. Is that common in NC?

Read the original article on the Raleigh News and Observer website.

More than a year after a Carrboro man fatally overdosed, a Durham man has been accused of selling him the fentanyl that killed him, police said Tuesday.

David Allen Bonita, 34, is charged with death by distribution in the March 29, 2023, death of Arman Guerra Imani, 32, according to a Carrboro Police Department news release. Bonita allegedly sold and delivered fentanyl to Imani, who died after injecting it, Bonita’s arrest warrant states.

Imani was found unresponsive by his mother in the bathroom of his East Winmore Avenue home shortly before 3 p.m. that day, according to an investigative report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He was last known to be alive around midnight.

Imani’s cause of death was an accidental overdose due to “acute ethanol, fentanyl, gabapentin, methadone and mitragynine toxicity,” the medical examiner’s investigative report states.

Bonita’s arrest warrant was issued on Oct. 31, but he was not arrested by members of the Carolinas Regional U.S. Marshals Task Force until Tuesday, police said. He is being held in the Orange County Detention Center on $150,000 secured bond, records show.

Fentanyl deaths, death by distribution charges in the Triangle

Bonita’s arrest mirrors another recent case in Carrboro in which Jeremiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma was charged with death by distribution in the June 27, 2023, death of Serguei Ndinga Momo, 21, The News & Observer previously reported. Momo also overdosed on fentanyl, police said.

The most recent data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services shows that as of July, there were 169 fentanyl-positive deaths throughout the state, a decrease from the 262 fentanyl-positive deaths North Carolina had seen by July 2023. In Orange County, there had been nine fentanyl-positive deaths as of Nov. 25., the department reported. That’s a decline from the 26 fentanyl-positive deaths in the county from January to August 2023, data shows.

Death by distribution charges remain relatively uncommon throughout the state and the Triangle, statewide data shows.

Throughout North Carolina, 54 death by distribution charges were filed from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, according to data obtained by The N&O from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. During that same period, no new death by distribution charges were filed in Orange or Durham counties, and only one new charge was filed in Wake County.

A born naturalist and animal lover

Imani, a graduate of East Chapel Hill High School who attended UNC-Wilmington, was described by loved ones in his obituary as “a born naturalist.” The 32-year-old animal lover was passionate about politics and social justice and enjoyed gardening, fishing, cooking and searching for edible plants in the woods, according to his obituary.

“He wanted to change the paradigm on how Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is treated in the US, allowing for a more open spectrum of treatment options,” the obituary states.

Above all, Imani’s legacy is the kindness he showed to those around him, his obituary says.

“The one enduring trait that people will remember about Arman was his kindness,” the obituary said. “In keeping with Arman’s way of life, in lieu of flowers or gifts, we ask that you convey kindness unto others, especially those who are in need.”

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US Marshals arrest Durham man in connection to 2023 fentanyl overdose in Carrboro

Read the original article on the CBS17 website.

CARRBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — More than a year and a half after a man died from a fentanyl overdose, the person suspected of selling the drug to him has been arrested, according to police.

On Tuesday, the Carrboro Police Department announced David Allen Bonita, 33, of Durham was arrested in connection to an overdose, which happened in Carrboro on March 29, 2023. Bonita is charged with death by distribution.

The overdose victim, a 32-year-old man, was found in a home on E. Winmore Avenue in Carrboro. Police say he was deceased when officers arrived.

The victim’s autopsy found that his death was the result of a fentanyl overdose, police said. This laid the foundation for an investigation which led to the identification of Bonita as the person who “sold a qualifying controlled substance” to the victim, which was the “proximate cause” of his death.

The Carolinas Regional US Marshals Task Force arrested Bonita Tuesday. He is being held in the Orange County Detention Center and was given a $150,000 bond.

In a release shared Tuesday, Carrboro police reminded the public that the first step to take when you suspect someone is in an overdose state is to call 911 immediately. Protections are provided to someone in an overdose state and the 911 caller if certain criteria are met, as listed in NC’s Good Samaritan Law.

The Carrboro Police Department has carried naloxone, an opioid antagonist, since 2014. The agency also conducted the first two law enforcement reversals of an opioid overdose in the state in 2015.

“The police department is committed to providing life-saving care in these situations,” the release said, alongside a link to behavioral health resources for people living with substance use and other challenges.

NHC Sheriff’s Office arrest suspect in fatal overdose case

Read the original article and watch the video on the WECT6 News website.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a suspect involved in a fatal overdose investigation that started in May of last year.

Michael Lawrence Walker Jr. was arrested on Friday, Nov. 8 and is suspected of selling and delivering fentanyl to 28-year-old Hannah Holt on May 7, 2023.

Holt was found dead inside an apartment building on Tesla Park Drive. .

Walker was charged with death by distribution, second-degree murder, PWIMSD Sch II CS and sell/deliver Sch II CS. He received no bond and awaits his first appearance in New Hanover County Superior Court.

Drug sting leads to dozens of arrests, drug seizures in Selma

Read the original article and watch the video on the ABC11 website.

SELMA, N.C. (WTVD) — A major operation in Johnston County that’s been 10 months in the making has taken dozens of alleged drug dealers off the street.

Selma Police said “Operation Tainted Candy” resulted in 25 arrests Tuesday, and that SPD confiscated large quantities of meth, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and more. The sting constitutes one of the largest in Selma’s history.

“I just think that it’s really important that our streets are safe and our neighborhoods are safe,” said Vanessa Lopez, a Selma resident and mother of five.

It makes you feel like you’re doing something great for your community, great for the town, and you’re getting bad stuff off the streets. – Sgt. Justin Vause, Selma Police Department.

Vanessa’s children range in age from 9 to 20, and she said that means a fair share of worrying about their safety and what potentially looms on the street.

“They’re all within the space of ages that I would be thinking about, you know, their friendships and the people that they’re spending time with,” she said. “And they also want to ride bikes around the neighborhood and just things like that.”

As part of the sting, which used undercover drug buys across Selma during 10 months, police rounded up drugs and alleged drug dealers at various locations, including the Quality Inn, and homes on Wood Street and Cypress Court.

“It makes you feel like you’re doing something great for your community, great for the town, and you’re getting bad stuff off the streets,” said Sgt. Justin Vause with Selma PD.

The town’s mayor, Byron McAllister, said he’s proud of the work being done to clean up Selma’s streets.

“That is a blessing to this community, particularly a community being right off of (Interstate) 95 that sees the effects of drugs daily on a daily basis up front, close and personal,” said McAllister.

McAllister said that as a father of four, he’s reassured knowing the work that’s underway to combat drug crime.

“You can go to sleep much easier knowing that there’s someone always watching your back in the town of Selma,” he said.

Selma PD identified 27 targets as part of Operation Tainted Candy and is still searching for two suspects in the sting. Charges range from simple possession to possession with intent to distribute, to drug trafficking, and more.

Two indicted for three overdose deaths in Chowan County

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

Published: Sep. 20, 2024 at 11:41 AM EDT|Updated: Sep. 20, 2024 at 3:24 PM EDT

EDENTON, N.C. (WITN) – Two people have been indicted for three overdose deaths that happened in one Eastern Carolina County.

The SBI announced this morning the arrests of Steven Patrick, Jr. and Ja’Nyryah White, both of Edenton.

The three deaths happened last December, along with several other non-fatal ODs, within 15 days of each other.

The victims were 66-year-old Janice Chilcutt, 61-year-old Ronald Adderly, and 24-year-old April Tapia.

Chilcutt and Adderly died in Edenton, while Tapia’s death was in the county.

A Chowan County grand jury indicted Patrick on two counts of death by distribution for the Edenton deaths, while White was charged with one count of death by distribution for the Chowan County death.

The SBI was brought in to investigate the deaths at the request of the Edenton Police Department and the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office.

Patrick was given a $500,000 secured bond, and White’s bond was $250,000 secured. Both suspects remain in jail.

Ayden man faces decade behind bars for trafficking fentanyl, fined heavily

EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA — An Ayden man was sentenced to the NC Department of Adult Corrections after pleading guilty to trafficking fentanyl, according to District Attorney Scott Thomas.

*Marvin Murphy (Photo: State of North Carolina p General Court of Justice)*

41-year-old Marvin Murphy was sentenced to a serve 7.5 to 10 years behind bars. In addition, Murphy was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.

Back in the summer of 2022, Morehead City and Carteret County detectives conducted controlled undercover buys from Murphy. This included the purchase of what was believed to be heroin for a total of $1,000 in marked cash. Murphy was later arrested after officials obtained warrants.

Testing by the NC State Crime Lab confirmed the substance was 27.99 grams of fentanyl. Officials say it was just under the highest-level trafficking weight.

The Morehead City Police Department and Carteret County Sheriff’s Office was the investigatory agencies. Assistant District Attorney David Spence prosecuted the case for the state and Superior Court Judge William Bland presided over the matter.

Social Media Fentanyl Dealer and Blood Gang Member Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

Read the orignal article on the US Attorney’s Office Eastern District website.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Raleigh fentanyl dealer who used social media platforms to advertise his product was sentenced to 144 months in prison, which includes an enhancement for the defendant’s attempts to intimidate government witnesses. On April 25, 2024, Axel Rodriguez a/k/a “Flash,” age 23, pled guilty to conspiracy and trafficking of fentanyl.

“Drug traffickers are increasingly pushing deadly fake pills through social media. They’ve learned they don’t need to stand on street corners when they can reach kids on their smart phones,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Counterfeit Oxycontin, Percocet, and Xanax sold on social media are driving addiction and overdose death. It’s time to get the word out and warn kids of the risks.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, in March 2023, Rodriguez became the subject of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Raleigh Police Department (RPD) investigation after he was identified as selling fentanyl in the Raleigh area using his Instagram account. Rodriguez regularly used his Instagram account to post pictures of the pills he was selling, as well as guns. Rodriguez would advertise that he was able to sell “K packs” of fentanyl pills, which is slang for 1,000 pills. Investigators reviewed Rodriguez’s Instagram account and observed numerous posts of firearms, gang members with firearms, and fentanyl pills for sale.

The investigation revealed Rodriguez was obtaining thousands of pills at a time and then distributing them in the Raleigh area. Between March and May of 2023, investigators conducted multiple controlled purchases of blue pills marked “M-30” from Rodriguez. For example, on March 13, 2023, investigators purchased 25 pills marked “M30.” The confidential informant reported that he observed four firearms in Rodriguez’s vehicle during that transaction. The pills tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.

Atlantic Beach man sentenced to 5 years for fentanyl-related death

An Atlantic Beach man has pled guilty to Death by Distribution of Fentanyl related to the overdose death of a 19-year-old.

Hayden James Hunter, 28, received an active sentence of 58-82 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

Hunter was arrested on May 3, 2023, and charged with second-degree murder at the time.

The charge is related to the distribution of fentanyl, which resulted in the overdose death of Krista Olivia Taylor, 19, of Morehead City, on Oct. 16, 2022, per authorities.

Morehead City authorities say that during a narcotics investigation by these two agencies, Hunter was determined to be the source of fentanyl distribution within the community. As a result of that investigation, Hunter received additional charges by Morehead City Police: Sell of Schedule I Controlled Substance, Deliver of Schedule I Controlled Substance, Manufacturing of a Schedule I Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Sell and Deliver a Schedule I Controlled Substance.

At the time of his arrest, Hunter was found to be in possession of heroin, methamphetamine and a firearm. Based on this evidence, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office filed additional charges: Intent to Manufacture, Sell and Deliver Heroin and Possession with the Intent to Manufacture, Sell and Deliver Methamphetamine.

Wayne County deputy sentenced to six-plus years for drug trafficking and fraud conspiracies

Wayne County sheriff’s deputy Michael Kenneth Cox received a six-year, two-month prison sentence for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and a mail and wire fraud conspiracy.

A Wayne County sheriff’s deputy received a six-year, two-month sentence for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and a mail and wire fraud conspiracy, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Michael Kenneth Cox, 49, will also have three years of supervised release after the sentence.

“We discovered Cox’s criminal activity as part of a much larger, multi-year investigation into dozens of drug traffickers across eastern North Carolina known as Operation Polar Bear,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Michael Easley Jr.

Citing court documents and other information presented in court, the Justice Department said Cox helped two drug traffickers evade chargers while he was a Wayne County deputy.

Man connected to fentanyl overdose death of Wilson teen appears in court on Tuesday

Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL TV5 News website.

The man accused of killing a teenager through fentanyl distribution appeared in court on Tuesday in Wilson County. Albert Wilson Green, 23, appeared before a judge on Tuesday. In May, authorities charged Green in connection to the 2023 death of a 17-year-old in Wilson.

The man accused of killing a teenager through fentanyl distribution appeared in court on Tuesday in Wilson County.

Albert Wilson Green, 23, appeared before a judge on Tuesday. In May, authorities charged Green in connection to the 2023 death of a 17-year-old in Wilson.

Several family members of victims of fentanyl poisoning were outside the courthouse on Tuesday, including Felicia Puente Castro, the mother of Jacob Castro.

“He was young … full of life,” she said.

Wilson police officers found Jacob Castro, who was 17 at the time, unresponsive and not breathing on Sept. 25, 2023, at a home on Hillcrest Drive. Castro died at the scene.

During their investigation, authorities determined Castro died as a result of fentanyl intoxication. Officers identified Green as the man responsible for selling Castro narcotics at the time of his death.

Castro, 17, died in 2023 due to a fentanyl overdose.

“He believed he was purchasing one thing, but he got fentanyl,” Castro’s mother said. “We believe that Albert Green knew what he was selling Jacob.”

In October 2023, Authorities arrested and charged Green with one count of selling and delivering schedule II-controlled substance related to Castro’s death. In May, authorities added a charge of felony death by distribution.

Green turned himself in on May 29. Nearly a dozen people arrived in a courtroom Tuesday to support Castro’s family as Green and his lawyer asked a judge for a trial.

Green, 23, is charged with death by distribution in the death of a Wilson teenager in 2023.

“It’s hard to look at him and know that one person can cause so much damage,” Felicia Castro said. “Not only for me and Issac, but to our group and so many in our group behind us.”

One of those people supporting Felicia Castro was Barb Walsh, the executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina. Walsh founded the group one year after her daughter passed away from drinking out of a water bottle with traces of fentanyl.

“It’s just like a chocolate chip cookie; we don’t know where the chocolate chips are going to end up,” Walsh said. “We don’t know where the fentanyl ends up in a pill. You could cut it in half. One person takes half [and] the other person takes half. One dies, one lives. It’s not worth the risk.”

Fentanyl Victims Network of NC outside Wilson County courthouse.

North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation towards the end of 2023, which made it easier for law enforcement to charge and prosecute people suspected of distributing drugs linked to overdose deaths.

The law also no longer requires proof that drugs were sold to the victim in the case of a fatal overdose, just that the suspect supplied the drugs.

The law went into effect on Dec. 1.

While the law now makes it easier to prosecute drug dealers for overdose deaths, it still could take families months to determine whether a family member died from an overdose.

In June, WRAL Investigates received exclusive access to the chief medical examiner’s office and forensic toxicology lab. The lab said they have jurisdiction over all sudden, unexpected, violent and suspicious deaths in the entire state.

According to Chief Medical Examiner Michelle Aurelius, at least 15,000 family members are still waiting to learn the cause of death of a loved one, with Aurelius saying drug overdose deaths are surging.

“When we look back at 2016 for the fentanyl-positive deaths here in North Carolina, we’ve gone up 584%,” she said.

Felicia Castro said her son will always be with her, and she hopes she can give him a sense of justice with Green behind bars.

“Justice looks like [Green] spending time in prison for his crime,” she said. “Justice looks like no more young people dying from fentanyl … no more children.”

Green told WRAL News at the courthouse that he had no comment on his case. He is due in court again on Dec. 10.