sampson county Archives - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

Read the original article on the Sampson Independent website.

Three Clinton-area men are behind bars this afternoon, facing a multitude of drug charges related to an ongoing death investigation involving a 49-year-old woman believed to have died from a suspected fentanyl overdose.

Warrants were issued Tuesday for James Bradford, 38, 1200 Taylors Bridge Hwy., Clinton, Dustin Millen, 37, 1200 Taylors Bridget Hwy., Clinton, and Benjamin Rackley, 43, of 50 Quarterhorse Lane, Clinton, with Bradford being taken into custody Tuesday, Nov. 18, and Miller and Rackley jailed earlier today, Nov. 20.

Miller is facing charges of trafficking in Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), possession methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, sell or delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance, conspiracy to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to Sampson County Sheriff’s reports, Bradford was charged with trafficking in a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Rackley, reports show, was charged with maintaining a dwelling for the use or sale of a controlled substance, sell or deliver of a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl), conspiracy to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The arrests come on the heels of a joint operation between the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Investigation Division, the Uniform Patrol Division, the Criminal Interdiction Team and the Animal Control unit.

Sampson County Sheriff’s Capt. Marcus Smith noted in a release that a series of three search warrants were issued as a result of that operation, followed by the arrest of the three individuals.

The warrants were obtained, he said, as part of an ongoing probe into the 49-year-old Clinton woman’s death on Nov. 18, one suspected to be tied to a fentanyl overdose.

Read the original article on the Sampson Independent website.

Sampson Independent

A fentanyl overdose that killed a Clinton woman earlier this year has led to the arrest of a 32-year-old man who authorities believe supplied the drug that took her life.

Christopher Trevon Graham, of Clinton, was taken into custody late Tuesday and charged with multiple felonies related to the woman’s death. The arrest, noted Sheriff’s Capt. Marcus Smith, came on the heels of a months-long county probe into the overdose and a review of the charges Friday by the District Attorney’s Office, which gave the go-ahead to make the arrest.

Graham was arrested on outstanding warrants for two counts death by distribution of certain controlled substances and possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute a Schedule II controlled substance.

The probe, Smith said, began in March 2025 in partnership with the FBI after the Clinton woman died from an apparent fentanyl overdose.

Evidence gathered during that investigation, the captain said, identified Graham as the supplier of the fatal dose.

Graham was located Tuesday in a vehicle on Bonnetsville Road and taken into custody without incident.

He has a prior record that includes multiple felony conviction related to firearms and narcotics trafficking.

Graham is currently being held without bond in the Sampson County Detention Center and is expected to make a first appearance on those charges later this week.

“This arrest underscores our agency’s continued commitment to identify and prosecute those responsible for distributing dangerous drugs in our community,” noted Sheriff Jimmy Thornton in a prepared statement. “We will not stop pursuing individuals who profit from poisoning our citizens.”

Information from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner notes that over 1,900 overdose deaths in 2024 were attributed to use of fentanyl.

Statewide, the information noted, communities continue to face rising threats from unregulated and deadly mixtures of illicit substances.

The Death by Distribution Law, enacted in 2019 and revised in 2023, allows law enforcement officers and prosecutors to hold drug suppliers accountable for overdose deaths.

The charge against Graham is classified as a Class B1 to Class C felony in North Carolina punishable by a potential prison sentence of 10 to 30 years.

“The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to working with state and federal partners to aggressively combat drug trafficking and safeguard the health and safety of its residents,” attested Smith.