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September 21, 2026: Pill press bill passes House as owners of LFA Machines arrested
Read the original article on the Partnership for Safe Medicines website.
Three senior employees of a pill press company have been arrested as the U.S. House unanimously passes the Stop Pills That Kill Act.
Two principal managers and one former long-time employee at LFA Machines, a company selling pill presses and tableting machines, have been arrested. Federal investigators say years-long investigations have not only led to the seizure of the company’s machines at clandestine labs nationwide, but also allege the men sold products to consumers knowing, intending, or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to manufacture counterfeit pills. In August, an Arizona grand jury indicted LFA Machines and the three men on six counts that each carry a maximum penalty of four years in prison and fines.
This comes as the U.S. House unanimously passed the Stop Pills That Kill Act (H.R. 8005), legislation that is aimed at disrupting the use of these illicit pill presses to manufacture counterfeit pills. The bill would require pill presses and key components to be serialized, strengthen penalties for removing identifiers or knowingly supplying equipment for illegal drug production, and direct the DEA to develop a strategy addressing counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other dangerous substances. The legislation comes amid continued pill press seizures nationwide, including 13 states identified in PSM’s latest report and 29 machines seized by the DEA during a recent enforcement initiative.
Continue reading the article on the Partnership for Safe Medinces website.
RALEIGH MAN CHARGED AFTER WENDELL WOMAN, 56, DIES FROM FENTANYL HE ALLEGEDLY SOLD HER
Read the original article on the HoodLine.com website.
A 35-year-old Raleigh man has been charged with death by distribution after a 56-year-old Wendell woman fatally overdosed on fentanyl she allegedly bought from him. Jimmie Gerrell McKinnie was already sitting in jail on other Wake County charges when investigators tied him to the woman’s death, and he remained jailed without bail as of Wednesday morning.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, McKinnie is charged with death by distribution and conspiracy to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance. Court records cited by the paper show the alleged fentanyl sale happened on June 18, 2025, and public records indicate the woman died the very next day, June 19, 2025.
How Investigators Say They Caught McKinnie Selling Fentanyl
The case against McKinnie did not start with the Wendell woman’s death. The News & Observer’s report notes that the Raleigh Police Department opened an investigation into him in February 2025 after receiving an anonymous complaint alleging he was selling fentanyl. That inquiry led to a separate charge: trafficking fentanyl by possession tied to a February 2025 incident, for which McKinnie posted a $3,000 secured bail bond, court records show.
The same reporting states that investigators later witnessed McKinnie selling suspected drugs to a woman at a Burger King on Rock Quarry Road. The account also describes a March search application that described McKinnie himself as a validated gang member, and it references a confidential informant who obtained a price quote from McKinnie for fentanyl.
A Long History of Drug Charges in Wake County
Court records reviewed by the outlet show McKinnie has been convicted of drug-related charges several times in Wake County, including a possession of heroin conviction in May 2019. By the time the death by distribution charge was filed, he was already being held in jail on several pending Wake County charges, and per the same account, he remained in custody without bail as of Wednesday morning.
North Carolina has a controlled-substances statute maintained by the North Carolina General Assembly.
Resources for Wake County Residents
Wake County runs a drug overdose prevention coalition that connects residents to educational resources and tracks metrics like treatment access, according to the county’s Wake County government page. The county also references a methadone clinic in North Raleigh that offers medication-assisted therapy and counseling for people seeking help overcoming addiction to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids, per the county’s opioid settlement page.
Boone Woman Charged in Connection With Son’s Fatal Overdose
Reads the original article on the Watauga Online website.
A Boone woman has been charged with death by distribution in connection with the November 2025 overdose death of her son, according to court records and reporting by multiple media outlets.
Shari Rogers Treadway, 66, of Boone, a former nurse at Watauga Medical Center, was arrested Wednesday evening, Sept. 16, by the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant from the Boone Police Department. She faces a charge of death by distribution (delivery), a Class C felony, in addition to embezzlement and drug diversion charges. Court dates are scheduled for Oct. 5 and Oct. 19.
Court documents list Nov. 6, 2025, as the date of the offenses. Investigators allege that Treadway, who had access to controlled substances through her nursing position, diverted Adderall and hydromorphone — both Schedule II controlled substances — and that she delivered fentanyl and cocaine to her son, Seth Treadway, that same day. The ingestion of those substances is alleged to have proximately caused his death.
The embezzlement and drug diversion charge was originally filed in January and was indicted by a Watauga County grand jury in March. The North Carolina Board of Nursing has since suspended Treadway’s license. In its filing, the board said some of the controlled substances found in her home “allegedly matched the hospital lot numbers” tied to inventory missing from Watauga Medical Center. The board also confirmed that Seth Treadway was her son.
Death by distribution is a felony under North Carolina law (G.S. 14-18.4), enacted in 2019 and expanded in 2023 in response to the opioid crisis. The law applies when someone unlawfully delivers or sells certain controlled substances and a user dies as a proximate result.
Woman Charged In Death Case
Read the original article on the WHKY News website.
TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. (WACB) – A Boone woman was arrested Wednesday evening (September 16) by the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant from Boone connected to a death case. The Boone Police Department issued a warrant naming 66-year-old Shari Rogers Treadway. The charge is felony death by distribution.
According to our news partner WACB, the charge involves the suspect allegedly supplying fentanyl and cocaine to a user who died. Court records state the offense occurred November 6, 2025. Treadway has a previous pending charge from January in Watauga County for felony embezzle/divert a controlled substance. The suspect was indicted on the charge by a Watauga County Grand Jury in March.
Treadway was transferred to the Watauga County Detention Center according to Alexander County Sheriff Chad Pennell. Court dates are scheduled for October 5 and 19.
Alexander County Deputies Serve Warrant To Woman Wanted For Death By Distribution
Read the original article on the B86 Radio website.
A Boone woman was arrested Wednesday evening by the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office.
The Boone Police Department issued a warrant naming 66-year-old Shari Rogers Treadway. The charge is felony death by distribution. The charge involves the suspect allegedly supplying fentanyl and cocaine to a user who died.
Treadway has a previous pending charge from January in Watauga County for felony embezzle/divert a controlled substance. The suspect was indicted on the charge by a Watauga County Grand Jury in March.
Treadway is being transferred to the Watauga County Detention Center as of noon today according to Alexander County Sheriff Chad Pennell.
Photo: Alexander County Sheriff’s Office
Two charged in overdose death
Read the original article on the Dublin Times website.
ROSE HILL — An overdose death on Monday, Aug. 10, led to the arrest of two individuals, who now face felony charges. Deputies with the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Powell Page Road in the Rose Hill area Monday, where Christopher Tucker, 33, was found deceased inside a residence. The death appeared to be the result of an overdose, according to an Aug. 11 Facebook post from the sheriff’s office.
The Duplin County Operations Division of the sheriff’s office investigated the death and subsequently arrested and charged 20-year-old Jordan Bass and 29-year-old Hailee Thompson in connection with Tucker’s death.
Bass was charged with one felony count of death by distribution, while Thompson was charged with one felony count of conspiracy of death by distribution.
Both are being held in the Duplin County Jail under no bond.
Methamphetamine Found During Traffic Stop with Four Children Inside
Fayetteville police urge community members to carry Narcan due to extreme opioid overdoses
The Fayetteville Police Department said they have seen an increase in drug overdoses from synthetic opioids in the past several months. Police are encouraging community members to carry Naloxone (Narcan). It is a nasal spray that will rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and restore breathing.
Fayetteville police are urging community members to carry Narcan due to a large number of opioid overdoses in the area.
The Fayetteville Police Department said they have seen an increase in drug overdoses from synthetic opioids in the past several months. Police are encouraging community members to carry Naloxone (Narcan). It is a nasal spray that will rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and restore breathing.
“Our immediate priority is preventing the additional loss of life. Synthetic opioids do not discriminate, and one exposure can be fatal,” said Fayetteville Police Department Major Shawn Strepay. “We ask everyone in our community to take this warning seriously and to call 911 immediately if an overdose is suspected.”
Police were called to a location on Saturday where three people were experiencing overdoses. Upon arrival, officers began lifesaving measures and called EMS. Two people died, and one person was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
People around Fayetteville agreed that carrying Narcan is a smart preventative measure while acknowledging the need for addiction resources.
“Even though Narcan is a very important preventative measure, I think there’s more things that could get to the root of the issue before that,” said Indie Luther, a Fayetteville resident.
“We urge friends and family members to have those difficult, but necessary, conversations with loved ones struggling with substance abuse. Warn them about this circulating danger and encourage them to seek help before it is too late,” Strepay said.
That message was echoed by another resident who works with Fayetteville Pride, which an organization supporting the city’s LGBTQ+ community and allies.
“Down here especially we have a lot of unhoused people,” said Krystal Maddox. “We do a lot of community activities and a lot of work in the community, so I know a lot of our members carry it.”
Where to find Naloxone (Narcan):
- Naloxone is available for free from the Cumberland County Department of Public Health, located at 1235 Ramsey St.
- Local pharmacies will offer Nalaxone without a prescription.
- For more information on distribution, visit naloxonesave-nc.org