orange county Archives - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

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.

Strother Murray-Ndinga talks about her stepson Serguei “Dolys” Ndinga Momo, who died from a drug overdose, as Jerimiah Hargrove (seated, at left), the man charged with selling him the drugs, listens in an Orange County court.

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.

Death by distribtion trial begins for man accused of selling fentanyl before Carrboro man’s overdose

Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL News website.

Jeremiah Hargrove is one of seven people to ever be charged with death by distribution in Orange County.

Three years after a Carboro man died from an overdose, the man accused of selling him the drugs is going to trial.

The charge, death by distribution, is relatively new to the North Carolina court system.

The law has been in effect since 2019, making it relatively new when it comes to a legal sense, and it’s being used all across the state.

Law professionals said it can get very complicated when trying to prosecute someone for selling a deadly dose. Since 2019, when the charge of death by distribution became law, Jeremiah Hargrove is one of seven people to ever be charged with it in Orange County. The charges came after 21-year-old Delise Ndinga Momo died of an overdose.

“If it saves one life, it’s worth it,” said retired judge Carl Fox.

Fox said it has its difficulties in getting through the court.

“You have a little bit of difficulty because the main person you need is deceased,” Fox said.

Fox says to get a conviction there needs to be hard evidence of the sale.

“They are, by their very nature, difficult cases,” Fox said.

Hargrove’s trial is just beginning. The prosecutors will lay out their evidence over the course of the trial’s early days. Court records said he sold indigamomo fentanyl in 2023, less than a week after his 21st birthday.

Family members remembering him as a handsome, talented, strong and generous person according to the GoFundMe they created back then. He’s one of the more than 23,000 North Carolinians to die from an opioid overdose since the death by distribution law was created. In that same time frame, according to the Fentanyl Victims Network, nearly 400 people have been charged in relation to selling the drugs that caused those deaths.

You have to say that it’s accomplishing something, and there should be risks involved for people out there dealing dangerous addictive drugs, because that’s the kind of thing that can kill people,” Fox said.

If Hargrove is found guilty, he faces up to five to six years in prison. That trial is expected to continue throughout the week.

Woman went to hotel to reset her life, family says. NC man now charged in her death.

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

Ashley Lane (far right) poses for a photo with her son Ashton (from left), eldest daughter Alyssa and youngest daughter Cali.

Ashley Lane was happy being a stylist, but she also was a friend and a therapist to people who were struggling, even when her own mental health and substance abuse got the better of her, her family said.

On Monday, a Durham man was accused of selling the fentanyl that caused Lane, 39, to overdose Dec. 28 at The Graduate Hotel in downtown Chapel Hill. She died on Dec. 31 at UNC Hospitals.

Aaron Donald Brooks, 40, is charged with felony death by distribution sale, possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance, sale or delivery of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance, court records show.

He is being held in the Orange County jail under $300,000 secured bail, records show.

Durham Tech instructor indicted on death by distribution charge, records show

Read the original article on the CBS17 News website.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — A philosophy instructor at Durham Technical Community College was arrested Monday in connection with a deadly overdose in Chapel Hill last December, court records show.

Aaron Donald Brooks, 40, of Durham was indicted in Orange County Court on a death by distribution through unlawful sale of a controlled substance. He is also charged with felony possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, selling/delivering a Schedule I controlled substance, and possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver a Schedule I controlled substance, according to court records.

Court records show Brooks is accused of selling fentanyl to a woman on Dec. 28, leading to her death. The Chapel Hill Police Department filed the warrant for his arrest.

According to court records, Brooks was not given bond. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Orange County Court on Monday.

Brooks was previously arrested on drug charges in Durham County on Dec. 11. The Durham County Sheriff’s Office filed the warrants for his arrest. He posted a $25,000 secured bond the following day prior to his arrest on drug charges in Orange County, according to court records.

In connection with a Durham County incident on Nov. 21, according to court records, Brooks is charged with delivering methamphetamine (two counts), selling methamphetamine (two counts), possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver methamphetamine, trafficking in methamphetamine, and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Court records show Brooks is charged with manufacturing/selling/delivering a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a park and maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, in connection with a Durham County incident on Dec. 11.

Brooks’ next appearance in Durham County Court on these charges is scheduled for March 10, according to court records.

According to the Duke University website, Brooks is an instructor of philosophy at Durham Tech.

Brooks’ LinkedIn says he joined Durham Tech in August 2019 and has taught at the school for over five years. Prior to Durham Tech, he was a tutor at the Duke University Athletic Department in 2013 and a chaplain at the Duke University Health System from 2013 to 2014. He holds a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School.

According to Durham Tech, Brooks has been on administrative leave since his arrest in December. He has not been allowed on campus or to contact employees or students.

School officials said they are exploring their next steps with the advice of legal counsel.

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office has indicated none of Brooks’ charges are related to Durham Tech, according to the school.

Durham man charged with death by distribution in overdose case. Is that common in NC?

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

More than a year after a Carrboro man fatally overdosed, a Durham man has been accused of selling him the fentanyl that killed him, police said Tuesday.

David Allen Bonita, 34, is charged with death by distribution in the March 29, 2023, death of Arman Guerra Imani, 32, according to a Carrboro Police Department news release. Bonita allegedly sold and delivered fentanyl to Imani, who died after injecting it, Bonita’s arrest warrant states.

Imani was found unresponsive by his mother in the bathroom of his East Winmore Avenue home shortly before 3 p.m. that day, according to an investigative report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He was last known to be alive around midnight.

Imani’s cause of death was an accidental overdose due to “acute ethanol, fentanyl, gabapentin, methadone and mitragynine toxicity,” the medical examiner’s investigative report states.

Bonita’s arrest warrant was issued on Oct. 31, but he was not arrested by members of the Carolinas Regional U.S. Marshals Task Force until Tuesday, police said. He is being held in the Orange County Detention Center on $150,000 secured bond, records show.

Fentanyl deaths, death by distribution charges in the Triangle

Bonita’s arrest mirrors another recent case in Carrboro in which Jeremiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma was charged with death by distribution in the June 27, 2023, death of Serguei Ndinga Momo, 21, The News & Observer previously reported. Momo also overdosed on fentanyl, police said.

The most recent data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services shows that as of July, there were 169 fentanyl-positive deaths throughout the state, a decrease from the 262 fentanyl-positive deaths North Carolina had seen by July 2023. In Orange County, there had been nine fentanyl-positive deaths as of Nov. 25., the department reported. That’s a decline from the 26 fentanyl-positive deaths in the county from January to August 2023, data shows.

Death by distribution charges remain relatively uncommon throughout the state and the Triangle, statewide data shows.

Throughout North Carolina, 54 death by distribution charges were filed from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, according to data obtained by The N&O from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. During that same period, no new death by distribution charges were filed in Orange or Durham counties, and only one new charge was filed in Wake County.

A born naturalist and animal lover

Imani, a graduate of East Chapel Hill High School who attended UNC-Wilmington, was described by loved ones in his obituary as “a born naturalist.” The 32-year-old animal lover was passionate about politics and social justice and enjoyed gardening, fishing, cooking and searching for edible plants in the woods, according to his obituary.

“He wanted to change the paradigm on how Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is treated in the US, allowing for a more open spectrum of treatment options,” the obituary states.

Above all, Imani’s legacy is the kindness he showed to those around him, his obituary says.

“The one enduring trait that people will remember about Arman was his kindness,” the obituary said. “In keeping with Arman’s way of life, in lieu of flowers or gifts, we ask that you convey kindness unto others, especially those who are in need.”

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US Marshals arrest Durham man in connection to 2023 fentanyl overdose in Carrboro

Read the original article on the CBS17 website.

CARRBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — More than a year and a half after a man died from a fentanyl overdose, the person suspected of selling the drug to him has been arrested, according to police.

On Tuesday, the Carrboro Police Department announced David Allen Bonita, 33, of Durham was arrested in connection to an overdose, which happened in Carrboro on March 29, 2023. Bonita is charged with death by distribution.

The overdose victim, a 32-year-old man, was found in a home on E. Winmore Avenue in Carrboro. Police say he was deceased when officers arrived.

The victim’s autopsy found that his death was the result of a fentanyl overdose, police said. This laid the foundation for an investigation which led to the identification of Bonita as the person who “sold a qualifying controlled substance” to the victim, which was the “proximate cause” of his death.

The Carolinas Regional US Marshals Task Force arrested Bonita Tuesday. He is being held in the Orange County Detention Center and was given a $150,000 bond.

In a release shared Tuesday, Carrboro police reminded the public that the first step to take when you suspect someone is in an overdose state is to call 911 immediately. Protections are provided to someone in an overdose state and the 911 caller if certain criteria are met, as listed in NC’s Good Samaritan Law.

The Carrboro Police Department has carried naloxone, an opioid antagonist, since 2014. The agency also conducted the first two law enforcement reversals of an opioid overdose in the state in 2015.

“The police department is committed to providing life-saving care in these situations,” the release said, alongside a link to behavioral health resources for people living with substance use and other challenges.