barb walsh Archives - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

Fentanyl Victims Network of NC honors families, leaders who fight fentanyl traffickers

Read the original article on the Carolina Coast Online website.

BEAUFORT — It was standing room only as more than 50 people attended the forum about fentanyl Saturday at the Beaufort Train Depot. Those attending have witnessed the devastation fentanyl causes as local victim families introduced their loved ones and shared the many ways fentanyl causes death.

Barbara Walsh, executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of NC, who organized the gathering to honor those who lead the effort to stop fentanyl traffickers, said In many instances. Lethal fentanyl is ingested unknowingly. Fake prescription pills containing undisclosed fentanyl additives made to look like Adderall, Xanax, Percocet and Oxycontin are deadly.

“The victims did not know,” she said.

The pharmacy is the only safe dispenser of prescription medication. Recreational drugs also may contain undisclosed deadly fentanyl additives because it is a cheaper man-made ingredient.

Fentanyl is highly addictive. A person’s body can quickly become dependent on fentanyl. Local recovery and treatment resources are offered by Brooke Barnhill, manager of the Post Overdose Response Team (PORT) within the Carteret County Health Department.

Fentanyl has killed 18,959 North Carolina residents in 10 years, 2013-2023. Of those, 168 occurred in Carteret County.

Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina honored the #1 NC investigation and prosecution team by presenting them with the Save Lives Together award: Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas, Prosecutorial District 4 (Carteret, Craven and Pamlico Counties), Assistant District Attorney Dave Spence, Carteret County and Legal Assistant (Paralegal) Michelle Gillikin, all of Carteret County.

Walsh said in the state, there are 37 NC Sheriffs who have no fentanyl investigation arrests leading to prosecution and four NC District Attorneys who have no prosecutions.

The removal of fentanyl traffickers who cause death requires teamwork. The Sheriff treats each death as a homicide investigation until proven otherwise. If the investigation leads to a prosecution, ADA Spence and LA Gillikin apply their extensive legal expertise to each case.

Walsh said victims and their families are treated with dignity and respect throughout the investigation and prosecution phases. This is unique to Carteret County.

“It should not matter where a person dies in NC to receive an investigation and justice, but it does,” she said

Walsh thanked Shannon Adams for serving as the local co-host of the event. Shannon’s brother, Ryan, thought he was dependent on Percocet, yet died in 2019 from undisclosed fentanyl additives in those pills.

Shawne Moran and Keenan, First Responder Therapy Dogs of Eastern North Carolina, were on hand to comfort the victim families and to discuss what they do to support recovery efforts in Carteret County.

For more information, visit www.fentvic.org or email info@fentvic.org to connect with local fentanyl victim families.

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Fentanyl Victims Network of NC to present awards to Sheriff Buck, DA Thomas and team for top efforts to stop fentanyl traffickers

Read the original article on the Carolina Coast Online website.

BEAUFORT — The Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, a nonprofit based in Wake County, plans to present awards to Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas and his team for top efforts in the state to stop fentanyl traffickers.

A ceremony will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on April 12 at the Beaufort Train Depot to recognize Buck, Thomas, Assistant District Attorney David Spence and District Attorney Legal Assistant Michelle Gillikin.

Fentanyl victims and their families will also be recognized and the event is open to the public.

In addition, there will be guest speakers, including Brooke Barnhill with the Carteret County Department of Health and Human Services Post Overdose Response Team (PORT).

Fentanyl Victims Network Executive Director Barbara Walsh, whose daughter died after unintentionally ingesting fentanyl, said, “The Sheriff is receiving an award for having the most in NC of investigations and arrests of fentanyl traffickers who caused a death. This is not because Carteret has the highest rate of fentanyl fatalities in the state. It is because Sheriff Buck cares and allocates resources to find out what caused those deaths. He treats victims and their families with dignity and respect. Some sheriffs have zero arrests.”

She added that Thomas, Spence and Gillikin are receiving awards for the most prosecutions in NC of fentanyl traffickers who cause death, the Death by Distribution charge.

“Again, this is not because Carteret has the highest number of traffickers, it is because the DA believes in keeping the community safe,” she said.

During the ceremony, Walsh said each reward recipient will speak. The event will also feature naloxone training and distribution of free naloxone. Public safety education and prevention materials will be provided.

According to their website, The Fentanyl Victims Network is a nonpartisan, action-oriented statewide grassroots nonprofit that promotes public safety, education, justice, advocacy and support of NC fentanyl victim families in all 100 North Carolina counties. The Beaufort event will be the 28th public safety and education event hosted by the organization in North Carolina.

Other purposes of the group are to spark safety conversations about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly counterfeit pressed pills, and to help provide access to life-saving naloxone in schools and communities. It’s also to connect NC Fentanyl Victim families for support and advocacy.

According to the organization, 18,594 NC residents were killed by fentanyl from 2013-23, and seven out of 10 street-pressed, copy-cat pills contain lethal fentanyl additives. The organization also provided a chart showing that from 2013-23 there were 168 fentanyl fatalities in Carteret County, with 29 Death by Distribution arrests.

In a joint statement about receiving the awards, Buck and Thomas said, “We have been working together as a team on all criminal matters since 2006 including the prescription drug issue which fueled the current heroin and fentanyl crisis we have faced in recent years. We have worked together to strictly prosecute drug offenders and we have supported treatment and recovery efforts to help people achieve recovery from their addictions and go on to live productive and healthy lives,” they stated

“We commend the tremendous work that has been done in the area of investigating overdose deaths and prosecuting these cases by Sheriff’s Office Detectives, other local police departments and the District Attorney’s Office prosecutors and legal staff. We are very proud of all of the work that has been done by these dedicated public servants investigating, prosecuting and holding accountable the offenders who have caused the deaths of citizens in our area. We hope our efforts have provided some sense of justice and closure to the families of these overdose victims.”

In addition, Buck and Thomas stated, “Everything we do should send a message to the public that we are working to address serious issues in our community and to let the criminal offenders know that we will not tolerate this type of activity and we seek to arrest, jail and prosecute them.”

For more information about the organization, go to Fentvic.org.

Contact Cheryl Burke at 252-726-7081, ext. 255; email Cheryl@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @cherylccnt.

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

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

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.

“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 get 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.

“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.

Town hall meeting to educate public on dangers of fentanyl

A man holds a poster showing Wilson County residents who have died as a result of fentanyl. Families shared their stories outside the Wilson County Courthouse in September to bring awareness to the dangers of the drug. Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina will hold a town hall meeting in Wilson on Feb. 1 at the Foundation YMCA of Wilson. *Drew C. Wilson | Times file photo*

Event organizers are sounding the alarm on the fentanyl crisis that continues to claim lives. The Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina will hold a town hall meeting in Wilson from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1, at Foundation YMCA of Wilson at 233 Nash St.

The purpose of the event, organizers say, is to spark public safety conversations about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly when it’s found in counterfeit pressed pills like Adderall, Xanax and Percocet.

Organizers will also be distributing naloxone, which goes by the brand name Narcan, and train those attending on how to administer the lifesaving antidote. Local families will also share their heart-wrenching stories of how their loved ones have died from fentanyl poisonings. The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

ADDRESSING THE ISSUE

Barb Walsh, founder of Fentanyl Victims Network, has been working with Wilson families who are reeling from the loss of their own children who have died as a result of unintentional fentanyl deaths. The hope, she said, is to bring awareness to a problem that is plaguing the country, the state and Wilson.

“This is a public safety problem we want to address,” Walsh said.

Walsh is holding several town halls throughout the state.

“I chose Wilson because there is a pocket of very active families,” Walsh said. “We have two death by distribution cases going on (in the court system).

Local elected officials, public health professionals, advocates, parents of fentanyl victims, first responders and representatives from the Wilson County Substance Prevention Coalition and the Wilson County district attorney’s office will be in attendance at the Feb. 1 town hall meeting. Local law enforcement members have also been invited, organizers said.

“I think it’s important for people to see these numbers and realize how many people are dying,” said Lisa Bennett, co-organizer of the event. Bennett lost her son, 22-year-old Mason Bennett, in February 2023. He died after taking what he believed was a Percocet, a prescription painkiller, but it was laced with fentanyl, she has said. Since her son’s death, Bennett has been working with Walsh and her nonprofit.

Walsh said 18,457 people in North Carolina have died as a result of fentanyl over a 10-year period.

From 2013 to October 2023, there have been 138 fentanyl deaths in Wilson County alone, according to state data Walsh has compiled.

SOUNDING THE ALARM

Walsh founded the Raleigh-based nonprofit after her daughter, Sophia Walsh, died from fentanyl poisoning in August 2021. Walsh’s daughter drank what she thought was a bottled water from someone’s refrigerator.

Unbeknownst to her, it contained diluted fentanyl. Sophia died, and no one called 911 until 10 hours later, Walsh said. No one was charged.

“We didn’t know what she died from until five months later,” Walsh said.

After her daughter’s death, Walsh channeled her grief into research, advocacy and justice for other victims. Walsh has worked across the state to bring awareness to the dangers of fentanyl and has worked with families to demand justice in their cases by utilizing state law and getting those responsible charged.

‘IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOUR CHILD’

Walsh said there’s a misconception about fentanyl deaths. She said not all deaths are the result of someone in active addiction. Some people are simply experimenting.

Seven out of 10 “street” pressed copycat pills contain lethal fentanyl additives, according to officials.

Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, is a synthetic opioid that can be lethal even in small doses.

“It could happen to your child,” Walsh said. “The pressed pills are the culprit.”

Organizers hope to educate families and encourage parents to talk with their children about the dangers that are out there.

“If we can stop just one family from having to go through this it will be worth it,” Bennett said.

Bennett said more lives will be saved if more people are armed with Narcan.

“They cannot save themselves,” Walsh said. “Someone in the community will have to save them.”

For more information about Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina visit www.fentvic.org.

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WRDC Community Matters January 11, 2025

On Saturday January 11, 2025 WRDC Community Matters aired a special episode where Barb Walsh, Michelle Murdock, and Betsy Moore from Wake County shared their stories.

Barb Walsh, Executive Director of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, fights to save lives and get justice for those killed by fentanyl poisoning. Joining Barb in the fight are Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina members Michelle Murdock and Betsy Ballard Moore.

There are two episodes being aired, Part 1 is airing January 11th, Part 2 will air one week later, January 18.

QCN Special: Combating the fentanyl crisis in the Carolinas

The opioid crisis has ravaged communities and families across the Carolinas. Watch this Queen City News special report on fentanyl in the Carolinas on YouTube.

Fentanyl trafficking is big business in the Queen City. Feds want to run it dry.

Read the original article on the Charlotte Observer website.

By Julia Coin of the Charlotte Observer.

Charlotte, a U.S. banking hub, was one of the first cities targeted in by a federal Treasury Department program aimed at shutting down fentanyl suppliers’ businesses.

Charlotte’s fentanyl problem has prompted federal attention and intervention. Officials involved in a U.S. Treasury program rolled out under President Joe Biden met in Charlotte Wednesday to join private and public leaders — from federal agents to sheriffs to bankers — to learn how to better shut down fentanyl traffickers’ business operations.

Charlotte — the country’s second-largest banking center — was one of the first seven U.S. cities the program, called PROTECT, visited since it launched in May. It is focused almost entirely on finding fentanyl dealers and suppliers and severing them from their money.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina has a similar program in place, but the federal involvement will enhance how information is shared between private and public sectors — or between federal agents, sheriffs and bankers, officials said. It is designed to give prosecutors more insight into how dealers move money, from quick ATM deposits to big bank account transfers.

Fentanyl has killed 37,000 North Carolinans in the last two decades, according to N.C. Department of Justice data.

The highly addictive and lethal synthetic opioid has flooded communities around Charlotte and overwhelmed local jails, police departments, courts and even classrooms, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

Grassroots organizations, like the nonprofit Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, tackle the trickle-down effect of fentanyl’s pervasiveness.

“A person like me — a person with a dead kid — I’m worried about getting dealers off the street,” said Barb Walsh, the executive director of the nonprofit.

The U.S. Treasury Department exists in a different sphere, she said, but those spheres can’t stay separate for much longer.

“If there’s nobody else at the national level trying to help,” she said, “then what we’re doing won’t matter.”

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, in an interview with The Charlotte Observer, said the department is focused on cutting the drug off at its source.

“If you are a drug dealer or if you are someone who’s running a distribution network,” he said, “you should know, and your family should know that we’re going to come after the money you are making by selling these drugs into these communities and killing our local citizens.”

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.

Raleigh mother and unborn child’s suspected fentanyl deaths a dark reminder of drug’s pull

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

Newly-released warrants reveal a Raleigh mother and her unborn baby were among the latest overdose cases as they each died from fentanyl overdoses. The latest data serves as a warning for parents.

Seventeen North Carolinians die from an overdose each day.

It’s part of a troubling trend in our state.

Newly released warrants reveal a Raleigh mother and her unborn baby were among the latest cases as they each died from fentanyl overdoses. The latest data serves as a warning for parents.

Barbara Walsh knows the danger of fentanyl, a toxic poison her daughter died from unintentionally in August of 2021.

“Basically, you have a murder with no weapon,” Walsh said. “Fentanyl puts someone to sleep like a dog.”

Sophia drank what she thought was water in a bottle – except it was laced.

“This young woman was 24 years old, Apex High School grad, Appalachian State grad, professionally employed,” said Walsh.

A new search warrant issued by Raleigh police describes a recent suspected fentanyl death of a mother and her unborn child. It happened at an apartment in southeast Raleigh.

Police responded to a woman in cardiac arrest on Aug. 14.

A man inside the apartment told police that she took fentanyl and that he last saw her watching a movie on her phone about an hour earlier before finding her unresponsive.

Wake County EMS administered Narcan, a drug that reverses the symptoms of an opioid overdose.

But the mother and her unborn baby died.

“We are seeing about 3,600 per year die, every year it’s getting larger until this year,” Walsh said.

According to the office of the state medical examiner, there were 193 fentanyl positive deaths in May alone in North Carolina.

Despite that, yearly data is showing a downward trend. There were 3,354 fentanyl deaths in 2022, 3,341 in 2023 and 1,008 so far in 2024.

With this week being International Overdose Awareness Week, she’s hopeful parents can continue to educate their children about the dangers of fentanyl – an odorless, tasteless drug.

“Right now, 7 out of 10 pills not from a pharmacist contain fentanyl,” Walsh said. “Most people don’t know it’s in their pill, a vape or a drink.”

Barb Walsh. Say Fentanyl Out Loud Without Shame. Day of Recovery. Lexington, NC on 8/10/2024

Barb Walsh Executive Director of fentvic.org urges Davidson County School Board to install naloxone in ALL schools to save student lives from fentanyl. Race Against Drugs Day of Recovery event in Lexington, North Carolina on August 10, 2024.