Tag: conviction
Raleigh man gave his friend a fentanyl-laced pill. Now, he’ll serve prison time
Read the original article on the Raleigh News & Observer website.
What started as a night of partying in 2023 ended with a prison sentence Tuesday for the man accused of selling the pills that killed his friend in a Carrboro home.
Jerimiah Hargrove, 22, of Raleigh, was scheduled to have his death by distribution case heard by an Orange County jury this week, but he chose Tuesday to accept an Alford plea instead.
That means Hargrove did not legally admit responsibility for the June 27, 2023, death of 21-year-old Serguei “Dolys” Ndinga Momo, but that he thought a jury would have found him guilty.
Superior Court Judge Stephanie Reese sentenced Hargrove to four to six years in prison, and also ordered him to get psychological and substance abuse treatment. He will also get educational and vocational training and be eligible for work release.
A second charge of selling a Schedule II controlled substance was dismissed Monday, court records show.
Reese warned Hargrove to take advantage of the programs available to him and to avoid alcohol and other substances in the future. Defense attorney Patrick Morgan told the court that Hargrove attended Johnston County Community College and worked several jobs before successfully completing most of a 12-month vocational training program in 2024.
Hargrove was kicked out of the Hope Center program after a relapse, but could return in the future, he said.
What led to Ndinga Momo’s death
Hargrove, Ndinga Momo, Hargrove’s girlfriend and another man were drinking together at the victim’s house in Carrboro after midnight on June 27 when Hargrove got out some “Perc 30s” — a pressed pill that included the prescription painkiller Percocet and fentanyl, Orange County Assistant District Attorney Anna Orr said.
Continue reading “Raleigh man gave his friend a fentanyl-laced pill. Now, he’ll serve prison time”Drug dealer sentenced in Johnston County teen’s overdose death
Read the original article on the Raleigh News & Observer website.
A Selma man will spend at least eight years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to selling a teenager the drugs that killed her.
Isaiah Lathomas DaPaul Watson, 27, was charged with death by distribution in the August 2025 death of Alesha Meshaw, 19, of Four Oaks, The News & Observer previously reported.
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock sentenced Watson to a minimum of eight years and maximum of 10 years and eight months in prison, the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Meshaw was found dead at a friend’s home after overdosing on counterfeit oxycodone pills, The N&O reported in October. The state crime lab found the pills actually contained fentanyl; carfentanil, a synthetic opioid “much more potent than fentanyl”; and ANPP, “a direct precursor to fentanyl and acetylfentanyl,” according to search warrants in the case.
Meshaw’s autopsy found she died from a fentanyl and carfentanil overdose. Her death was ruled an accident.
Meshaw’s boyfriend told police she’d struggled with substance use, and investigators found texts on her phone indicating she’d met with Watson the day before her death to buy $50 of “blues,” according to search warrants.
Watson was arrested in Roanoke, Virginia, last September after hiding out at his girlfriend’s house, search warrants show. He’d previously served time in prison in a 2020 home invasion in Johnston County and also had pending charges there at the time of Meshaw’s death, court records indicate.
Johnston County District Attorney Jason Waller said in the release he was grateful for law enforcement’s work to seek justice for Meshaw.
“Death by distribution cases present unique challenges for prosecution,” Waller said in the email. “The most important witness to the drug transaction is no longer with us, and other witnesses involved in this type of crime are often reluctant to cooperate.”
Meshaw, also known as “Meme” by loved ones, was described by family members in a GoFundMe as a “bright soul [who] never let anything get her down.”
“Our heart goes out to Aleisha’s [sic] family, and I hope this outcome will help them find solace,” said Assistant District Attorney Keith Gordon, who prosecuted the case, in the release. “Aleisha [sic] was a very young woman, loved by many, whose life was lost to a senseless act of greed.”
North Carolina man convicted in fentanyl overdose death of 29-year-old woman
PASQUOTANK, N.C. (WAVY) — A judge has sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to causing the overdose death of a 29-year-old woman.
Dontae Williams was originally charged with death by distribution. Williams appeared before the Pasquotank County Superior Court and pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter. Superior Court Judge Eula Reid Sentenced Williams to an active term of imprisonment of 77 to 105 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
On July 2, 2024, deputies and EMS responded to the 700 block of Egan Lane in Elizabeth City, where they found and attempted life-saving measures on 29-year-old Jessica Modlin. Modlin was later pronounced dead on the scene. Officials determined fentanyl was the cause of death.
Dontae Williams was arrested and charged on January 20, 2025.
Franklin County Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison
Read the original article on the US Justice Department website.
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A federal judge sentenced Ahmod Talley to over 10 years in federal prison for selling fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in Franklin County. On January 14, 2026, Inmate Talley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell and possess with the intent to sell heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, possession with intent to sell heroin and fentanyl, possession with intent to sell cocaine, and two counts of possession of a gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
“We recognize the devastating impact drug addiction and overdoses have on families in our communities. This sentence sends a message, understand clearly: when you sell deadly poison to our kids and families just to make a little bit of money, you will pay serious consequences. Dope dealers lose their freedom for decades. This prolific drug dealer earned every day of his prison sentence, and the residents of Eastern North Carolina will be safer while he’s locked up. Simple Lesson: Drugs Kill, Prison Awaits – Do Right.” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.
The investigation into Inmate Talley’s drug dealing started after a fatal drug overdose in Franklin County. Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated and determined that Inmate Talley sold fentanyl to the victim three days before the death. Ultimately, law enforcement pulled Inmate Talley over, and found a loaded .40 caliber handgun, bindles of fentanyl labeled “Try This” (like the ones found in the overdose victim’s house) and bindles perversely labeled “Life Support.” Law enforcement searched Inmate Talley’s house, finding a .380 caliber pistol, cocaine, and marijuana. They also searched Inmate Talley’s grandmother’s house, where they found a rifle and 350 bindles of a heroin and fentanyl mix stamped “Life Support” and, apparently marketed at children, “Goosebumps.”
“Today’s sentence underscores the power of coordinated law enforcement efforts to hold drug dealers accountable when their actions cost someone their life,” said Mark M. Zito, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Charlotte. “Through the combined work of the FCSO, HSI, and our partners in the Eastern District of North Carolina, HSI remains committed to targeting those who distribute lethal fentanyl and other narcotics in our communities at the expense of public safety.”
Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. FCSO and HSI investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Casey L. Peaden prosecuted the case.
NEWPORT WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
Holder gets Active Sentence in Death by Distribution Case
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.
Gloucester man sentenced over 8 years for fentanyl distribution in girlfriend’s death
Read the original article on the WCTI News12 website.
After a four-day trial in Carteret County Superior Court, District Attorney Scott Thomas and Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck announced that Hugh Crandall Willis, Jr. of Gloucester, was convicted by a jury for his role in the death of his girlfriend, Bethany JoAlison Styron, 25 of Davis.
Willis was convicted of the following:
- Death by Distribution of Fentanyl
- Sale and Delivery of Fentanyl
- Felonious Possession of Fentanyl
Willis was sentenced to an active sentence of 78-106 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, followed by a 6-8 month suspended sentence for 36 months of supervised probation, according to officials.
The following is a release from the State of North Carolina General Court of Justice, Prosecutorial District Four:
During the early evening hours of July 30, 2022, Styron, who was with a friend at the time, pulled into a gas station at the corner of Highway 101 and Steel Tank Road in Carteret County.
After more than an hour sitting at the pump, Styron stopped breathing. Her friend called 911 and EMS pronounced Styron dead. Her cause of death was later confirmed to be from acute Fentanyl toxicity. After a thorough investigation into Styron’s death, Detectives uncovered that late in the day on July 28, 2022, Willis came to the Styron residence and delivered a quantity of Fentanyl to Styron and her friend that was with her during the time when she overdosed. The pair mixed the drugs purchased from Willis into a bag of drugs they had purchased earlier in Kinston. Styron purchased those narcotics on the way home from a weeklong medical inpatient stay at UNCChapel Hill hospital where she was treated for pneumonia, cardiac problems and complications of Hyper IGE Syndrome. Styron used and overdosed on the last amounts of the drugs in that mixture.
In October of 2022, Detectives reached a point in their investigation to charge Willis with the Sale and Distribution of Fentanyl and received an arrest warrant for that charge. When Deputies arrived at Willis’ home to serve him with that warrant and arrest him, Willis was found in possession of more of what was confirmed by the state lab as Fentanyl.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney David L. Spence, the lead detective in the case was Joseph (Cory) Bishop of the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office. The State presented 14 witnesses and 37 exhibits of evidence. The Defendant did not present any evidence. Resident Superior Court Judge Augustus Willis presided over the trial.