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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.

WRAL Investigates: Opioid overdoses, fentanyl deaths decrease for second straight year in Triangle

An analysis of state health data shows that opioid overdose hospitalizations have decreased by more than 20% in the last year, marking two consecutive years of declining emergency department visits in North Carolina.

“I’m excited to see the decreases continue,” says Tyler Yates, State Opioid Coordinator with DHHS’ Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services. “Not long after the action plan was put into play in 2017, we saw some decreases right away and then COVID happened. Overdose deaths skyrocketed.”

Read the complete of the article on the WRAL News website.

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More drugs, fewer weapons found in schools, crime data shows

More than 99% of students were not involved in a reportable crime on campus, said Michael Maher, chief accountability officer for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Most schools reported only zero to five criminal offenses at their school last year, he said.

Criminal offenses went down again in North Carolina schools during the 2024-25 school year, with another significant drop in offenses for weapon possession, new data shows.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released the latest public school crime statistics during the State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday.

The drop in criminal offenses reported reflects ongoing trends, but so does a continued rise in offenses for drug possession.

Total offenses dropped from 12,212 the year before to 11,470 offenses last year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, which released the data Wednesday afternoon.

Raleigh mom spreads awareness of drug overdose risk by gifting skateboards to Triangle kids

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

A Raleigh mom is raising awareness about drug overdose risks by gifting skateboards to children across the Triangle area. Her mission not only remembers her son but also educates families on the dangers of substance abuse.

Susan Plattner’s son, Caleb Mehlman, spent most of his free time at Marsh Creek Skatepark in Raleigh. She said skateboarding was second nature for her son.

“At the age of three, I had a scooter, and he figured out how to push the handle down and turn it into a skateboard, and that was it,” Plattner said. “He was skating passionately ever since then.”

“Every life is worth saving”: How a UNC researcher’s website is connecting communities to naloxone

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

Delesha Carpenter’s personal tragedy has fueled her mission to combat opioid overdoses through increased naloxone access. Her new website with UNC maps naloxone availability across NC’s 100 counties.

Delesha Carpenter began her career as a researcher focused on pediatrics. A little over seven years ago, her path took an unexpected turn following the deaths of two close friends.

“A lot of people who get into this field, it’s personal,” Carpenter said. “I lost two friends within two weeks of each other to opioid overdoses. That really inspired me to increase access to naloxone.”

The researcher and professor with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy recently launched NalxoneNearMe.org. The website features an interactive map of all 100 North Carolina counties, rating them based on the number of naloxone distribution services available.

Durham County is tied with Mecklenburg County as the highest rated counties on the map with a score of 88. Wake County wasn’t far behind with a score of 77.

Carpenter told WRAL the Naloxone Availability Scores are based on the level of availability of no-cost naloxone and pharmacies that sell naloxone in each county.

Naloxone distribution resources are categorized into 14 types, including syringe service programs, EMS, harm reduction organizations, health departments, pharmacies and healthcare providers.

“The highest score a county can receive is 100, which would mean that all 14 naloxone sources included in the Naloxone Availability Score are present in that county,” Carpenter explained. “If a county had one harm reduction program in the county, they would get the same amount of ‘credit’ toward the score as a county that had two or three reduction programs.”

Increased naloxone use and availability are among the efforts researchers say have contributed to a reduction in opioid overdose deaths in recent years.

WRAL investigated how the medication works when taking viewers inside the human body to reveal the way naloxone fights against opioid overdoses.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 41,500 North Carolinians died from overdoses between 2000-2023.

As of the latest data available from 2024, overdose deaths decreased by approximately 32% from the year prior.

“One thing is everybody’s life is worth saving. It is important to carry naloxone, especially if you’re going to be in situations where people are going to be using drugs, you never know what is in the drugs that you’re using,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said increasing the availability of medications for opioid use, such as buprenorphine and methadone, would also help reduce overdose fatalities.

“Other resources that people should be aware of, and one that’s linked on our website, is Naloxone Saves. Ours tells you what types of sources are available, but you can go to the Naloxone Saves website and find the actual pharmacies that carry and stock naloxone, or find your health department and whether it’s distributing naloxone,” Carpenter added.

Naloxone will not harm someone who hasn’t taken an opioid, so it is recommended even when it is unclear what kind of drug a person has taken.

More than one dose may be needed because some opioids, like fentanyl, can take a stronger hold on the opioid receptors.

Woman charged with selling fentanyl that led to fatal overdose, Wake County deputies say

Read the original article on the WRAL TV5 website.

A woman was arrested Monday and charged with the fatal overdose of a man earlier this year.

A woman was arrested Monday and charged with the fatal overdose of a man earlier this year.

On March 29, the Wake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a death investigation at a home off Panther Lake Road. They found 39-year-old Matthew Godbold unresponsive inside the home.

Their initial investigation indicated that the cause of death was a possible overdose.

Officials collected and sent evidence to the Wake County Bureau of Forensic Services for testing, which determined that substances found at the scene tested positive for fentanyl.

Deputies determined that 37-year-old Lauren Olsen sold drugs to Godbold that ultimately led to his death. The WCSO did not provide details as to how they connected Olsen to him.

On Monday evening, deputies arrested Olsen and charged her with aggravated death by distribution and felony sell/deliver a Schedule II controlled substance. She is scheduled to appear in court for the first time for this offense Tuesday afternoon.

According to court records, Olsen has a previous arrest history related to possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia from other counties.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. When manufactured by pharmaceutical companies and approved by the FDA, it can be safely used to treat patients in severe pain. The synthetic fentanyl leading to many overdose deaths is made in unregulated labs, pushed by drug cartels, and put in various drugs as a cheap way to produce extremely strong substances.

The fentanyl crisis continues to devastate families across North Carolina, even as overdose deaths decline. Back in late May, Gov. Josh Stein called for a special unit to investigate fentanyl trafficking across the state.

Wayne County deputy sentenced to six-plus years for drug trafficking and fraud conspiracies

Wayne County sheriff’s deputy Michael Kenneth Cox received a six-year, two-month prison sentence for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and a mail and wire fraud conspiracy.

A Wayne County sheriff’s deputy received a six-year, two-month sentence for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and a mail and wire fraud conspiracy, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Michael Kenneth Cox, 49, will also have three years of supervised release after the sentence.

“We discovered Cox’s criminal activity as part of a much larger, multi-year investigation into dozens of drug traffickers across eastern North Carolina known as Operation Polar Bear,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Michael Easley Jr.

Citing court documents and other information presented in court, the Justice Department said Cox helped two drug traffickers evade chargers while he was a Wayne County deputy.

Man connected to fentanyl overdose death of Wilson teen appears in court on Tuesday

Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL TV5 News website.

The man accused of killing a teenager through fentanyl distribution appeared in court on Tuesday in Wilson County. Albert Wilson Green, 23, appeared before a judge on Tuesday. In May, authorities charged Green in connection to the 2023 death of a 17-year-old in Wilson.

The man accused of killing a teenager through fentanyl distribution appeared in court on Tuesday in Wilson County.

Albert Wilson Green, 23, appeared before a judge on Tuesday. In May, authorities charged Green in connection to the 2023 death of a 17-year-old in Wilson.

Several family members of victims of fentanyl poisoning were outside the courthouse on Tuesday, including Felicia Puente Castro, the mother of Jacob Castro.

“He was young … full of life,” she said.

Wilson police officers found Jacob Castro, who was 17 at the time, unresponsive and not breathing on Sept. 25, 2023, at a home on Hillcrest Drive. Castro died at the scene.

During their investigation, authorities determined Castro died as a result of fentanyl intoxication. Officers identified Green as the man responsible for selling Castro narcotics at the time of his death.

Castro, 17, died in 2023 due to a fentanyl overdose.

“He believed he was purchasing one thing, but he got fentanyl,” Castro’s mother said. “We believe that Albert Green knew what he was selling Jacob.”

In October 2023, Authorities arrested and charged Green with one count of selling and delivering schedule II-controlled substance related to Castro’s death. In May, authorities added a charge of felony death by distribution.

Green turned himself in on May 29. Nearly a dozen people arrived in a courtroom Tuesday to support Castro’s family as Green and his lawyer asked a judge for a trial.

Green, 23, is charged with death by distribution in the death of a Wilson teenager in 2023.

“It’s hard to look at him and know that one person can cause so much damage,” Felicia Castro said. “Not only for me and Issac, but to our group and so many in our group behind us.”

One of those people supporting Felicia Castro was Barb Walsh, the executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina. Walsh founded the group one year after her daughter passed away from drinking out of a water bottle with traces of fentanyl.

“It’s just like a chocolate chip cookie; we don’t know where the chocolate chips are going to end up,” Walsh said. “We don’t know where the fentanyl ends up in a pill. You could cut it in half. One person takes half [and] the other person takes half. One dies, one lives. It’s not worth the risk.”

Fentanyl Victims Network of NC outside Wilson County courthouse.

North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation towards the end of 2023, which made it easier for law enforcement to charge and prosecute people suspected of distributing drugs linked to overdose deaths.

The law also no longer requires proof that drugs were sold to the victim in the case of a fatal overdose, just that the suspect supplied the drugs.

The law went into effect on Dec. 1.

While the law now makes it easier to prosecute drug dealers for overdose deaths, it still could take families months to determine whether a family member died from an overdose.

In June, WRAL Investigates received exclusive access to the chief medical examiner’s office and forensic toxicology lab. The lab said they have jurisdiction over all sudden, unexpected, violent and suspicious deaths in the entire state.

According to Chief Medical Examiner Michelle Aurelius, at least 15,000 family members are still waiting to learn the cause of death of a loved one, with Aurelius saying drug overdose deaths are surging.

“When we look back at 2016 for the fentanyl-positive deaths here in North Carolina, we’ve gone up 584%,” she said.

Felicia Castro said her son will always be with her, and she hopes she can give him a sense of justice with Green behind bars.

“Justice looks like [Green] spending time in prison for his crime,” she said. “Justice looks like no more young people dying from fentanyl … no more children.”

Green told WRAL News at the courthouse that he had no comment on his case. He is due in court again on Dec. 10.

Man arrested for selling drugs linked to 2023 overdose in Carrboro

Read the original article on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Jerimiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma, is charged with death by distribution and selling a Schedule II controlled substance.

Carrboro police arrested a man Wednesday and charged him in connection with another man’s overdose death.

Jerimiah Hargrove, 20, of Selma, is charged with death by distribution and selling a Schedule II controlled substance.

Carrboro police said Hargrove sold a controlled substance to Serguei Ndinga Momo, who died of an overdose on June 27, 2023, at the age of 21.

Police said the substance was the cause of Momo’s death.

Authorities are holding Hargrove at the Wayne County Jail on an $80,000 bond.

Police urged people to call 911 if someone is overdosing.

North Carolina’s Good Samaritan Law allows for people to report an overdose – their own or someone else’s – without fear of criminal prosecution.

Naloxone distribution efforts help fight opioid crisis in NC

Watch the video and read the article on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners.

Naloxone has quickly become a central part of harm reduction efforts nationally and within North Carolina.

The medication comes in two main forms: an injection and nasal spray. Both work to save lives by reversing the effects of an opioid overdose.

Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners.

“Harm reduction is the first line of defense we have. It is the on the ground, in the community response. It is by people with lived experience for people with lived experience,” shared Elyse Powell, executive director of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.

Efforts to bring naloxone into school systems are also expanding, including in Wake County Schools. School officials tell WRAL News training efforts are underway to prepare for the distribution of the medication to schools this year.