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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.”

Triangle area man charged with death by distribution in woman’s overdose

Read the original article on the Raleigh News & Observer website.

A Johnston County man is facing multiple charges in a woman’s fatal overdose at a Four Oaks home this summer.

A Johnston County man has been charged with death by distribution in a woman’s fatal overdose this summer.

Isaiah Lathomas Dapaul Watson, 26, is accused of selling $50 of pills containing fentanyl to Alesha Nicole Meshaw, 19, who was found dead in the early morning hours of Aug. 17 at a friend’s residence in Four Oaks, according to search warrants in the case.

A warrant for his arrest was issued Sept. 12, and Watson was taken into custody at his girlfriend’s home in Roanoke, Virginia, two days later, court documents state.

Watson, of Selma, is also charged with selling a Schedule II controlled substance, delivering a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of a Schedule II substance with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute, court records show.

Hours before Meshaw’s death, she reportedly complained of intense leg pain to the friend she was staying with, warrants state. The friend called her boyfriend to help move Meshaw off the bathroom floor, the warrants state. The News & Observer is not naming any of the other involved parties because they have not been charged with a crime in Meshaw’s death.

After moving Meshaw to a bedroom, the friend told police that Meshaw appeared to be sleeping, but when she checked on her later, Meshaw was “unresponsive,” according to the warrants. When the woman touched Meshaw’s hand, it felt cold, prompting her to call police about 2:15 a.m.

Meshaw’s boyfriend gave police her cellphone, which he said he’d retrieved from the home shortly before law enforcement arrived, the warrants state. It’s not clear why he took Meshaw’s phone from the scene. Police also found a container of eight blue pills at the scene; Meshaw’s friend reported finding the drugs in Meshaw’s purse, according to the warrants.

“[The friend] suspected Meshaw was high because in the past she knew Meshaw used Percocet without a prescription,” the warrants state. “Instead of Percocet, she located these blue pills and placed them into a container to show her mom and dispose of them later.”

Meshaw’s boyfriend told police she struggled with substance use. Text messages on her phone showed texts between Meshaw and Watson arranging to purchase “blues” about 3:15 p.m. the day before her death, search warrants allege.

An analysis from the state crime laboratory found the pills contained carfentanil, a synthetic opioid “much more potent than fentanyl”; fentanyl; and ANPP, “a direct precursor to fentanyl and acetylfentanyl,” search warrants say. A detective described the combination as commonly leading to overdoses.

The pills Meshaw allegedly purchased were meant to imitate oxycodone, a commonly prescribed type of pain pill, according to search warrants. Counterfeit pills like the ones found at the scene actually contain fentanyl, which is much more potent.

A postmortem urine test showed Meshaw tested positive for fentanyl and marijuana, search warrants state.

A grand jury indicted Watson on Sept. 22 on the charges tied to Meshaw’s death, court records show. He remained in the Johnston County jail as of Friday morning with bail set at $5 million secured.

A GoFundMe for Meshaw’s family had raised $1,047 of its $3,000 goal as of Friday morning. The fundraiser described Meshaw, also known as “Meme,” as a “bright soul [who] never let anything get her down.”

Suspect faced unrelated charges

At the time of Watson’s arrest, he already was facing multiple pending charges in unrelated cases, including a Dec. 2 charge of possession of a firearm by a felon and Oct. 15, 2024, charges of fleeing/eluding arrest with a motor vehicle, resisting a public officer, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and simple possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance, court records show.

He was out on $50,000 secured bond at the time of Meshaw’s death.

Watson was previously convicted of first-degree burglary, robbery with a dangerous weapon and second-degree kidnapping in October 2020 in Johnston County. He was released from prison Sept. 14, 2023, state records show.

“Large-scale” fentanyl dealer arrested after two-month undercover drug investigation in Selma, Johnston County deputies say

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.

Nearly a year later, a mother waits for closure in son’s death as NC medical examiner’s office faces challenges

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A mother’s been waiting almost a year for closure and answers. Kelley Blas is waiting for the official cause of her son’s death.

On June 21, 2023, Blas lost her son John Steen to an accidental overdose.

“We don’t know what exactly it was that took John, because we don’t have a toxicology report, we don’t have an autopsy, we don’t have a death certificate,” Blas said.

Blas said she never thought she’d be waiting upwards of 11 months to receive the documents.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said there are staffing troubles at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME.)

“NCDHHS has ongoing concerns about staff vacancies and high turnover at OCME, which have a negative impact on the system’s ability to maintain high-quality services for North Carolinians,” said NCDHHS.

Blas knows how much closure those reports could bring. She lost her older son David to an intentional overdose in 2017 after struggles with mental health. Four months after David’s death, Blas said she received the papers she once again is waiting for.

“I only could open it up just to read the cause of death, which I knew what it was, but I needed, I needed to see it,” Blas said. “And once I saw it, I closed it and locked it up in a box and I haven’t really looked at it since then. But it just gave me a sense of just, okay, this part is done, I don’t have to think of my child being in a morgue.”

DHHS said each case is different, so there is no typical time frame for completing reports.

Blas said the state medical examiner’s office told her John’s case is complete, but pending pathology review.

OCME has 15 permanent state positions that are vacant, equal to a 20% vacancy rate, according to NCDHHS. NCDHHS said that includes four vacant pathologist positions (out of 13.)

At the same time, the caseload is growing, with a 26% case increase from 2019 to 2023, according to NCDHHS. The department said it is undoubtedly influenced by a 69% rise in suspected overdose deaths.

“A backlog in OCME creates challenges for law enforcement, attorneys, our public health partners and for the families and communities left behind,” said NCDHHS.

Blas emphasizes she’s not the only one waiting for closure, hearing stories of similar or longer waits from other families who lost also lost children to overdoses.

“When you lose someone, that already causes suffering, and then when you have to compound that by extending these waits longer and longer, I just, I’m not sure that others really understand what that’s like,” Blas said.

NCDHHS pointed to several recommendations in Governor Roy Cooper’s proposed budget, including:

Support expanded capacity by adding 35 permanent, state-funded positions to the OCME workforce;
Strengthen and support local medical examiners by increasing their payments from $200 to $400 per case and would more adequately cover the cost of their time and mileage to/from a scene;
Ensure local medical examiners are adequately supplied with scene kits, cameras and other necessary equipment to do their job;
Improve communication for families, law enforcement, attorneys and others about the status of a medical examiner case by developing a 24-hour call center and self-service portal to more timely deliver case status information;
Allow OCME to fully staff second and weekend shifts by providing compensation for OCME staff who are assigned non-traditional work hours; and
Increase OCME’s ability to handle more cases though the much-needed expansion/renovation of the OCME location in Raleigh.

Read the article and watch the video on the CBS17 website.