Tag: carteret county

18 arrested in Carteret “Operation Find Out” drug crackdown

Read the original article on the Carteret County News-Times website.

CARTERET COUNTY — Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck announced the arrest of 18 suspects that are facing 146 felony charges in round one of “Operation Find Out.” According to Buck, the arrests were the result of a months-long operation by the sheriff’s office carried out through undercover purchases, with charges ranging from possession to trafficking.

Buck said the arrests have come with bond amounts as high as $10 million. At least 30 more suspects will be arrested as part of the operation in the coming weeks, he said during a Wednesday press conference.

“The message is clear – sell drugs in Carteret County and you’ll find out,” Buck said. ”You’ll find out that you’ll be arrested, taken to jail, and likely depending on your charges given a high bond to keep you in jail. You’ll be strictly prosecuted and many of you will ultimately find yourselves serving prison time.”

Buck said his team of detectives has done “tremendous work” in taking drug dealers off the streets. He said Carteret County District Attorney Matt Wareham and Assistant District Attorney David Spence have also been critical partners in their efforts. 

“The work they have done over the years has made a major impact on our county and our work continues,” Buck said. 

Wareham warned that the DA’s office will seek tough sentences for drug-related crimes. 

“To those folks who sell drugs, who traffic in drugs, who live off others misery, we will prosecute you. We will seek tough enforcement, we will seek long prison sentences,” Wareham remarked.

Buck noted that Carteret County leads the state in prosecuting death by distribution cases. 

“If you want to go to prison for killing someone over something as stupid, foolish and needless as selling dope, then keep on and find out,” Buck commented. 

Buck noted that drug overdose deaths in Carteret County have fallen from 36 in 2020 to only five this year.

“We were having a terrible problem with Fentanyl for some time, and it seems like we’re not dealing with as much as we had been in the past,” he said.

For those addicted to drugs, Buck said the county is willing to offer help. 

Brooke Lane, who heads up the Carteret County Post Overdose Response Team, echoed Buck’s remarks. 

“There is help out there. You don’t have to end up in our county jail, you don’t have to end up part of this operation,” she commented. 

Newport woman sentenced for 2nd-degree murder

Read the original article on the WNCT TV9 website.

BEAUFORT, N.C. (WNCT) — Amanda Alice Blanton, 36, of Newport, pled guilty to 2nd degree murder in the death of Daniel Andrew Brisson, 46, also of Newport, and has been sentenced to 238-298 months in the Department of Adult Correction during the most recent term of Carteret County Criminal Superior Court.

The case was investigated by the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office, and the lead investigator was Courtney Howell. Assistant District Attorney David L. Spence prosecuted the case and Resident Superior Court Judge Clint Rowe presided over the matter.

Newport woman pleads guilty to second-degree murder of Carteret Co. man

Read the original article on the Carteret County News Times website.

BEAUFORT – District Attorney Matt Wareham and Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck announced that Amanda Alice Blanton, age 36 of Newport, pled guilty to Second-Degree murder in the death of Daniel Andrew Brisson, age 46 of Newport, and was sentenced to 238-298 months in the Department of Adult Correction during the most recent term of Carteret County Criminal Superior Court.

The case was investigated by the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office and the lead investigator was Courtney Howell. Assistant District Attorney David L. Spence prosecuted the case and Resident Superior Court Judge Clint Rowe presided over the matter. Pending the disposition of co-defendant cases in this matter a more detailed release will be issued.

The body of Daniel Andrew Brisson was found on Harris Street on March 20, 2022. Following an investigation, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office deputies have charged two more people with murder in connection with his death.

The two individuals are Joshua Kenneth Clauson, 20, and Jason Allen Porter, 42, of Newport. Police accuse the three individuals—Clauson, Porter, and a third person—of working together to intentionally inject Brisson with methamphetamine and fentanyl, and then dumping his body on Harris Street. Clauson is being held without bond at the Carteret County Jail. Porter was charged with murder but is already serving an active prison sentence for violating probation.

Carteret County leads state in death by distribution charges

Read the original article watch the video WNCT TV9 website.

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) — Carteret County has the most charges of death by distribution in the state from 2013 to June 2024, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

The law allows officials to prosecute individuals who sell or give drugs to someone that leads to an overdose death. Carteret County has had 171 fentanyl-related deaths since 2013, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

Barb Walsh founded The Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina after fentanyl killed her daughter in 2021. She now collects data and information from government agencies about fentanyl deaths so people can know what is happening in their counties.

“My 24-year-old daughter was killed by fentanyl in a water bottle. August 16th, 2021,” Walsh said. “She was smart. She was successful and professional. She had just gotten a promotion. She lived in Charlotte, 24 years old, and she should still be alive.”

Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck III said tackling the fentanyl crisis is a priority for his office. He said the death by distribution law has become a strong tool.

“Put yourself in the shoes of a grieving mother or father, many of whom I’ve talked with right here sitting in this office, then come back to me and tell me what you think about the death by distribution law,” Sheriff Buck said. “It’s easy for people to say how they would feel, but when it comes home to them, it’s a completely different story.”

Learn more about the Fentanyl Victims Network here.

Havelock woman extradited from Pennsylvania on death by distribution charge

Read the original article on the WNCT News9 website.

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) — Detectives with the Carteret County Sheriff’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.

Two arrested in connection with Riley Goolishian’s fentanyl death in Beaufort

Beaufort, NC — Two men are now behind bars in connection with the death of a 25-year-old woman following a joint investigation, according to the Beaufort Police Department.

Officials say 26-year-old Ladavion Vontrell Manning of Morrisville and 24-year-old Kevin Crishawn Milliken of Apex are facing second-degree murder, death by distribution and the sale and delivery of Schedule II controlled substances.

Manning was taken into custody at his Morrisville home on May 2, 2025 and was also charged with sale and delivery of fentanyl. He remains jailed at the Carteret County Detention Center under a $750,000 bond.

On Tuesday, June 3 officials arrested Milliken in Chatham County. He also faces separate charges in Chatham County, including felony possession of cocaine, maintaining a vehicle or dwelling, possession of drug paraphernalia and simple possession of a schedule IV-controlled substance. Milliken remains in jail in Chatham County under a $1 million bond and will be transported to Carteret County for trial proceedings.

These arrests come after an investigation into the death of Riley Goolishian, who was found in her Beaufort home back on May 26 of 2024 unresponsive. Authorities say she died a day later at Carteret Health Care in Morehead City. It was confirmed her cause of death was fentanyl and cocaine toxicity through autopsy and toxicology findings.

The joint investigation determined that both Manning and Milliken sold fentanyl and cocaine to Goolishian the day prior to her being found unresponsive.

The investigating agencies include the Beaufort Police Department, Carteret County Sheriff’s Office and the NC SBI.

Beaufort Police Chief Paul Burdette stated, “This case represents a coordinated effort by multiple law enforcement agencies to bring justice in the face of a heartbreaking loss. We remain committed to pursuing those who distribute dangerous and illegal substances in our communities.”

Carteret County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office are fighting hard against fentanyl crisis

Read the original article and watch the video on the WNCT0 On Your Side website.

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT)- The Carteret County Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with the District Attorney’s Office (District 4) continue to try to stay ahead of the fentanyl crisis and enforce the law to save lives.

Earlier this week the offices helped convict Hugh Crandall Willis Jr. of Gloucester, N.C. with Death by Distribution of Fentanyl, Sale and Delivery of Fentanyl and Felonious Possession of Fentanyl. A jury found him guilty of his role in the death of his girlfriend, Bethany JoAlison Styron.

According to Sheriff Asa Buck III, Carteret County has had three overdose deaths this year with more than 150 overdose cases in the past five years. However, he also says the county has seen a significant drop over that time period.

“Three is still too many,” Buck said. “One is too many, but it’s nowhere near the numbers of what we were seeing back in 2020, 20, 21, 22, and then in 23 and 24, the numbers began to drop.”

Buck says his office and the District Attorney’s are continuing to be proactive to the issue. The county has convicted more than 10 people with death by distribution and charged more than 30 since the General Assembly passed the statute in 2019.

“We investigate every drug overdose death just like a homicide and we have been for many years,” Buck said.

The sheriff, district attorney and others from the district attorney’s office were recently given the “Save Lives Together” award for their work in holding fentanyl traffickers accountable.

“When people are doing things and it’s causing people to die, that’s not something that you just sit back and say, well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Buck said. “You make that a priority and you certainly try to do the very best you can to investigate those criminal offenses and hold people accountable when and where you can through the court system.”

Translate »