Spring Lake man charged in deadly deal

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A Spring Lake man is accused of providing a drug that killed a woman who recently moved to Harnett County from Arizona.

A Harnett County Grand Jury indicted 34-year-old Issac Anthony Ortiz, of 415 Wapiti Drive, on a charge of death by distribution for allegedly selling Michale Ryan the fentanyl that killed her between Sept. 7 and Sept. 10.

Ryan, 32, had recently moved to the area, according to Harnett County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Spencer Elmore. The woman was found dead in her home earlier this month. Investigators believe her death was caused by an overdose of the deadly opioid.

“The investigation revealed, prior to Michale’s death, Issac Ortiz provided or sold illegal narcotics to Ryan, causing her to become deceased,” said Elmore. “This is still an ongoing investigation.”

The indictment was returned on Sept. 15. Ortiz was arrested on Tuesday.

He is being held under a $500,000 secured bond. In his first court appearance, Wednesday, Judge Brian E. Lewis appointed attorney Jesse W. Jones to represent Ortiz in court proceedings. His next court date was set for Nov. 10.

In an affidavit of indigency submitted to the court on Tuesday, Ortiz claimed he is self-employed as a landscaper. His spouse, Zorina Chase is self-employed in retail clothing, he noted in the court record. Ortiz listed his monthly income at $3,000 and claims five dependents. He reports his monthly expenses as $2,200.

Ortiz pleaded guilty to a previous charge of misdemeanor larceny in another case last year. He was ordered to pay a fine of $100 and court costs of $203.

2 arrested in overdose death

Accused of dealing deadly drugs

Read the original article on the Harnett County Daily Record website (may be behind paywall).

Two Harnett County men are facing death by distribution charges in the April 2024 overdose death of a 29-year-old wife and mother of three.

Jonathan William Smith
Cody Keen Pope

The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office arrested 32-year-old Cody Keen Pope, of 2717 Old Stage Road South in Erwin, and 42-year-old Jonathan William Smith, of 134 S. Railroad St., Coats, in the death of Logan Brianne Carr. Both men face charges of death by distribution through the unlawful sale or delivery of certain controlled substances, namely fentanyl and methamphetamine in this case.

Carr was a homemaker and the mother of one son and two daughters.

“Logan was a beautiful bright soul with sparkling eyes, big smile, and a quick laugh,” her obituary states. “She never saw the bad in people, only the hope of what they could be.”

Prior to her death, Carr was accepted to the community college system and was planning to pursue a degree in criminal justice with the goal of becoming a probation officer. She was battling an addiction the day she died on Sunday, April 14, 2024. She is survived by her children, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, sister’s family and a host of other family members and friends.

Logan Brianne Carr, 29, died of an overdose on April 14, 2024.

Pope and Smith were both out on bond in other cases when they were taken into custody for the deadly distribution charge on Wednesday. In Pope’s other case, he’s facing charges of identity theft and obtaining property through a false pretense from a reported offense in January 2024, when he was accused of transferring $2,500 out of another guy’s CashApp into his account. He was initially arrested on those charges six weeks after Carr’s death.

Smith was out on a $500,000 bond, awaiting a December 2025 hearing on charges of felony possession of marijuana, four counts of trafficking in meth and trafficking in opioids when he was picked up Wednesday.

In a first appearance hearing Thursday, Pope’s bond was set at $750,000 secured and Smith’s was set at $1 million secured.

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