wcti news 12 Archives - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

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Law enforcement officials from across eastern North Carolina gathered in Morehead City to enhance their understanding of death by distribution cases. Carteret County officials emphasized the importance of this training.

Officers, detectives, and deputies from Carteret and Craven counties convened at the Morehead City Police Department to stay informed on trends and strategies for handling these cases. Sheriff Asa Buck highlighted the local efforts to strengthen their approach since the introduction of the new law in 2019.

“For the past couple of years one of my detectives, Corey Bishop, and Assistant District Attorney David Spence have been putting on this training session — not just here in our county, but across the state in various trainings, homicide investigator events, and other conferences as well,” said Sheriff Buck.

Since 2020, the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office has charged 30 individuals under the death by distribution law, leading the state in such prosecutions. Sheriff Buck and Assistant District Attorney David Spence were present to lead the training and discuss the significance of these cases.

Read the original article and watch the video on the WCTI News 12 website.

More than 50 community members gathered at the Beaufort Train Depot Saturday to discuss the deadly impact of fentanyl in Carteret County. During the forum, Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas, and other local officials received the Save Lives Together Award for their ongoing fight against fentanyl trafficking.

Families at the event shared personal stories about losing loved ones to fentanyl, highlighting the community’s urgent fight against the deadly drug.

One of those was Barbara Walsh who lost her Daughter to the deadly drug.

“It’s important for the families who lost a loved one to know that what their community is doing to keep someone else from dying,” said Walsh.

And In Carteret County alone, fentanyl overdoses have claimed 168 lives from 2013 through 2023.

According to Carteret County Sherriff Asa Buck a trend decreasing over the years.

“These cases are not different someone committed an act they provided a drug to someone caused them to lose their life and we investigate that just like a homicide and we prosecute those offenders just like we would if they would have killed somebody with a knife or a gun, ” said Sheriff Asa Buck