DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A man has been arrested, and a kilo of the highly potent, synthetic opioid fentanyl has been seized by the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
On Thursday, Jerrad Alexander McPherson, 28, was seen acting suspiciously in what appeared to be the sale and distribution of drugs, according to investigators with the sheriff’s narcotics unit.
Detective S. Dixon attempted a traffic stop of the maroon Buick Encore McPherson was driving, at which time warrants state McPherson drove recklessly and more than 15 mph over the posted limit in the area of Hillsborough and Colemill roads in northwest Durham.
During a short pursuit, the sheriff’s office said McPherson threw items out of the car before coming to a stop. The items thrown from the car were found to be a stolen 9mm semiautomatic pistol and a “small amount of narcotics,” according to the sheriff’s office.
After the traffic stop, a warrant was granted to search McPherson’s home, where a kilo of fentanyl was found and seized.
At the time of his arrest, McPherson was on federal probation and had been previously convicted on drug possession charges, according to his warrant.
Following his Thursday arrest, he was taken to the Durham County jail and given a $2.5 million bond. His charges include:
Trafficking opium or fentanyl
Possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver fentanyl
Possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver methamphetamine
Felony possession of cocaine
Felony flee/elude arrest with a motor vehicle
2 counts of maintaining a vehicle/dwelling with controlled substances
Possession of a stolen firearm
Possess firearm by felon
Possession of drug paraphernalia
The sheriff’s office said one kilo is enough to kill about 500,000 people, which is more than the population of the entire City of Durham.
“To remove a kilo of fentanyl off our streets potentially saves 500,000 lives because fentanyl is so potent,” Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead told CBS 17. “An amount that’s the size of a pinhead could kill an individual.”
From January to August 2025, the state reported 44 fentanyl-positive deaths in Durham County. Though progress is being made, the county has lost more than 500 people due to opioids since 2013.
“Hopefully now, we’ll put together a good case and present it to the district attorney or to the U.S. attorney’s office because this is trafficking,” Birkhead said. “We’ll try to prosecute this individual to the fullest extent of the law.”
That’s a welcomed goal for family members of local victims.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Wake County prosecutors allege a Garner woman sold a fatal dose of purple fentanyl — which began appearing on local streets earlier this year — in March, according to the Wake County Sheriff’s Office.
Prosecutors said 39-year-old Matthew Godbold’s father called 911 on March 29 after finding his son unresponsive at home.
“They found the victim, Matthew Godbold, deceased in the living room. He was kneeling on the floor. His upper body was slumped over the couch. He had blue lips and was cold to the touch. Additionally, there was drug paraphernalia nearby the deceased,” Wake County prosecutors said Tuesday during a court hearing.
Investigators determined Godbold died from overdosing on purple fentanyl. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the NC Department of Health and Human Services. Just two milligrams, the size of a few grains of salt, can be fatal.
Drug dealers dye fentanyl purple and other colors as a way to distinguish themselves, according to Raleigh police and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office. It’s often laced with other drugs, like tranquilizers, making it even more lethal.
“It’s just a coloring agent that’s added to regular fentanyl for marketing purposes, for drug dealers to make their product look better. However, the most common thing that we’re seeing are the small blue fentanyl pills,” said Lt. David Bradford with Wake County Sheriff’s Office.
Prosecutors believe Godbold’s fatal dose came from Lauren Olsen, who has a long history of drug charges. She appeared in court Tuesday to face charges of aggravated death by distribution and selling a Schedule II controlled substance.
“The death by distribution charge here is an aggravated charge that is due to the defendant’s previous conviction for attempted trafficking of opioids,” prosecutors said.
Court records show Olsen was convicted of that attempted trafficking charge in 2017. Prosecutors also said Olsen has a history of failing to appear for court dates.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — According to the CDC, tens of thousands of people die each year from fentanyl. It’s an issue affecting people across the country, and right here in North Carolina.
Heaven Leigh Nelson, a 24-year-old victim of fentanyl. (Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)
Officials have been working on solutions for years to get fentanyl out of the state and country.
Just two milligrams of this powerful synthetic opioid is enough to kill the average person, and it does just that, every day.
“She loved everyone, and everyone loved her,” said Patricia Drewes of her daughter, Heaven Leigh Nelson. Drewes said in her daughter’s 24 years on this earth, she loved photography, the arts and people.
“She used to tell me all the time that there was no such thing as strangers. The strangers were friends that we just hadn’t met yet and that’s the way she lived her life,” she added.
Drewes said one day, Heaven went to a party.
“Something happened to her at a party—something tragic—and that set her into a tailspin. So, my daughter did suffer from a substance abuse disorder and that was caused by this tragic event,” Drewes said.
Her daughter went to a rehabilitation center in Kentucky for help.
“Someone brought her back home against my wishes. They had sent me a message saying they wanted to bring her back. You know, that she wanted to come home and I refused to bring her home because I wanted her to finish the program,” Drewes said.
She said Heaven came back home to Vance County, N.C. just before she received the call every parent fears.
“On a Monday night, January 28, 2019, and my fiancé answered the phone, and I heard him say oh God oh no,” Drewes said. “I think that my mind knew but my heart didn’t want to accept that it was about my daughter.”
Heaven passed away and it was not until months later that Drewes said she learned fentanyl took her daughter’s life. At the time, she says, she knew nothing about fentanyl.
“Absolutely nothing. No one was talking about illicit fentanyl in 2019. I had no clue,” said Drewes. “It felt like someone had punched me in my face and a gut punch because to me, illicit fentanyl, is, that’s a poisoning. That’s murder. And that’s what it felt like when I read the fentanyl. And I’m like, what is fentanyl?”
“A larger issue every single day”
Just the tiniest bit of fentanyl, two milligrams, is enough to kill the average person.
“It’s not just those that have a substance use disorder dying in this country. Everyone’s children are dying. We have infants, we have toddlers, we have teenagers, young adults, those with substance use disorder, and those without—dying. You know, it affects everyone,” said Drewes.
According to data from the North Carolina Division of Health and Human Services, in 2012, 140 people died from fentanyl state-wide. In 2021, the number skyrocketed to 3,117. The most-recent finalized data available comes from 2021, according to the department.
In Wake County in 2012, there was a more than 8,700% increase in deaths from fentanyl during that same time period.
In Durham County, there was an 8,900% increase in deaths from fentanyl from 2012 to 2021.
“Well, unfortunately, Mary, it’s becoming a larger issue every single day. And that’s not an over-exaggeration. For example, last year, my deputies seized approximately 3.7, little less than four grams of fentanyl. And earlier this year, we have seized over 300 grams of fentanyl,” said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.
At the sheriff’s office, evidence technicians handle suspected fentanyl in plastic bags. The “controlled contraband” was seized by the sheriff’s office. In the room with the evidence is Narcan, just in case.
“We’ve seized in pills. We’ve seized pill presses along with it. It’s been laced. Marijuana is being laced with fentanyl. So, we’re seeing it in unimaginable places,” said Sheriff Birkhead. “This is an industry that is making money. Fentanyl is far cheaper than any other drug to manufacture or to make these days. We know that this is not just a North Carolina or East Coast problem. The precursors for fentanyl come from China. The drugs are coming up from the southern border. They’re coming across from the northern border, and they’re just infiltrating cities all across the country. And unfortunately, it has made its way to Durham.”
Provisional data from the CDC states in 2023, there were an estimated 74,702 deaths from synthetic opioids, which it says is primarily fentanyl. That’s down slightly from 76,226 in 2022. Provisional data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from June 2024 shows “fentanyl positive” deaths also trending downward. These are deaths where fentanyl was detected but the person’s official cause of death has not been ruled/determined.
Turning tragedy into advocacy
While there are reported decreases in deaths, Drewes tells us, there is so much work to do. After her daughter’s death, she founded ‘Forgotten Victims of North Carolina,” is one of two state representatives for the North Carolina chapter of Drug-Induced Homicide Foundation, and is the Vice President of ‘Lost Voices of Fentanyl.’
“We are the largest fentanyl advocacy group in the country. We host a national event every year at the national monument, and we march to the white house,” said Drewes.
Sometimes attending these advocacy events by her side is her daughter’s son. “She was my only child so he will be my only grandchild and that’s what I call him. He’s my gift from God and Heaven.”
(Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)
Drewes told CBS 17 she wants more people held accountable in these cases. In North Carolina, there is a criminal charge called death by distribution. However, she says no one has been charged in connection to her daughter’s death.
How to access naloxone, other resources in NC
In North Carolina, there is a statewide standing order for naloxone, commonly known by the brand name, “Narcan.” It authorizes pharmacists to dispense naloxone to any person meeting the criteria.
Under this order, it is available without a prescription at most retail pharmacies in the state. It is also covered under most insurance policies. It is also available at local health departments and many syringe service programs.
According to preliminary SSP data from DHHS, more than 114,000 naloxone overdose rescue kits were distributed last year. For more information about naloxone and other statewide resources, visit the NCDHHS website or https://naloxonesaves.org/.
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.
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.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The Wake County School board approved a policy to make naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, available in all schools and to train school staff to use it.
The newly-approved policy enables the district to put naloxone in schools across the county and train at least three people in each school to administer it if someone has an emergency that appears to be opioid-related.
Barb Walsh, whose daughter died after accidentally being exposed to fentanyl, came to the meeting with a large picture of her daughter and boxes of naloxone. She pleaded with the board to act quickly.
“Ten people die each day in North Carolina from fentanyl, and it’s in products people don’t know it’s in,” she said. “Kids may not intentionally take it, but they will die and this is how we’re going to save lives.”
She emphasized that it’s important to have naloxone in schools that serve children of all ages.
“We do not know what the environments of the children are, so we don’t know what age somebody will be ingesting fentanyl unintentionally, but the school will be ready.”
Before naloxone can be put in schools, though, the district has to obtain it. The board is looking at funding sources. One potential source of funding is Wake County’s opioid settlement money.
Applications are due by June 5, and the school board noted that deadline during Tuesday’s meeting. Board members decided to waive a second reading of the policy and move forward with approval, as staff said a policy must be in place before the board could apply for funding from the county.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Families of those impacted by fentanyl in North Carolina joined together at the General Assembly Wednesday to spread awareness on the dangers of the drug.
Duane and Leslie Locklear were just two of the many parents in attendance. They lost both of their sons, Matthew and Ryan, to fentanyl.
“We lost Matthew in February of 2022 right here in Raleigh and nine months later we lost Ryan in Pembroke. Both, again, due to fentanyl poisoning,” said Duane.
Now they’re on a mission to make sure no other parent has to go what they’ve gone through.
Fayetteville mom, Nanielle Ervin, lost her son to the drug as well.
“I didn’t know what fentanyl was,” said Ervin. “Just to find out that your loved one is gone it’s devastating.”
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says in 2021 more than 77% of overdose deaths in the state likely involved fentanyl.
The group said to combat the crisis they want to see more Naloxone, a drug commonly known as Narcan, in schools.
