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Business, Law Enforcement, and Fentanyl Victims Groups to President Trump: Close De Minimis Loophole Now for all Commercial Shipments to Prevent More Harm
Read the Press Release on The Coalition to Close the the De Minimis Loophole website.
NC man sentenced for fentanyl sale linked to Cary hotel overdose death
Read the original article on the Raleigh News and Observer website.
A North Carolina man whose distribution of fentanyl contributed to a fatal overdose in a Cary hotel has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Keymon Leahke Cofield, 25, of Vance County pleaded guilty in April to distributing fentanyl and heroin, along with possession with intent to distribute. The investigation that led to his arrest began on June 13, 2020, when Cary police responding to a suspected overdose at a local hotel found a 35-year-old man dead with 50 bindles of suspected fentanyl and heroin, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina said.
Officials traced the fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, to Cofield, who was 20 at the time. They determined he had traveled south from the small city of Henderson to Cary to sell drugs. An undercover investigation that summer culminated in Cofield’s arrest. Authorities seized 651 bindles of suspected fentanyl and heroin, and a search of Cofield’s phone showed photos of firearms and large amounts of cash.
The Department of Justice listed Cofield’s nicknames as “Keymoney” and “Boi Fat.”
Cary and North Carolina overall have seen increases in opioid incidents this century. Statewide, opioid overdose fatalities rose 800% between 1999 and 2016 — from around 100 deaths to 1,300. Cary reported 11 on-the-scene opioid overdose deaths in 2017 and the same number in 2020, the year of Cofield’s arrest. In 2018, Cary launched an Opioid Wastewater Project pilot program that sought to measure opioid consumption not by overdoses but by the concentration of opioids in sewage samples. Ten locations around the town of 170,000 were selected.
Town officials sought a new gauge for opioid use after observing deliveries of Narcan — a medication that can reverse the impacts of opioid overdoses — exceeded actual reports of overdoses.
In 2022, Cary reported 118 opioid-related incidents, a higher total than in any of the previous five years. That year, Cary received $928,360 from the North Carolina Department of Justice as part of national settlement agreements with opioid companies.
OCME Reports Updated
The NC OCME has issued their reports for July 2025. Visit the OCME Reports page to see updated reports.
UPDATE: Guilty Plea in 2023 Double Overdose Case
From the Statesville Police Department:
Trump signs bill making tough sentences for fentanyl trafficking permanent
Read the original article on the USA Today website.
Nearly 73,000 people died from overdosing synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to the government.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a law that extends tougher prison sentences for fentanyl trafficking, surrounded by relatives of people who died from overdoses and lawmakers who approved the bill.
“Today we strike a righteous blow to the drug dealers, narcotic traffickers and criminal cartels,” Trump said. “We take a historic step toward justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge.”
The law places fentanyl on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of most serious drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The list includes drugs such as heroin, cocaine and LSD. Fentanyl has been temporarily assigned to the Schedule 1 category since 2018. The law makes the designation permanent.
The law also makes permanent mandatory minimum penalties of five years in prison for trafficking 10 grams of fentanyl and 10 years for 100 grams.
“It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a big deal,” Trump said.
The Department of Homeland Security seized 27,000 pounds of fentanyl and arrested 3,600 criminal suspects in 2024.
More than 105,000 people nationwide died of drug overdoses in 2023, including nearly 73,000 from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The crackdown on fentanyl distribution is also at the heart of current U.S. trade disputes with China, Mexico and Canada. Trump imposed tariffs on those countries, citing the threat of cross-border fentanyl trafficking.
“We are delivering another defeat for the savage drug smugglers and criminals and the cartels,” Trump said.
Parents of several people who died after overdosing on fentanyl spoke at the event.
Anne Fundner, whose 15-year-old son Weston died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2022, previously spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year.
“It is a lifeline for families across America for keeping our families safe,” Fundner said of the legislation. “This is what we voted for, Mr. President.”
Gregory Swan, whose 24-year-old son Drew died of fentanyl poisoning, started a group known as Fentanyl Fathers, in which parents tell their story to high schools across America.
“His passing ruined, I thought, my life,” Swan said. “There’s despair and there’s hopelessness. But we’ve been able to find some repose in going out and advocating.”
Google to block promotion of pill presses on ads and shopping platforms
Read the article on the Partnership for Safe Medicines website.
On July 1, Google announced that it was updating its dangerous products and services policy to restrict the promotion of pill presses, encapsulating machines and components they use, such as dies, molds and stamps used to create or imprint pills. The change will affect the Google Ads and Google Shopping platforms starting in September 2025, with six weeks until full implementation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that states and tribes proposing importation programs can use “a static baseline approach for the cost-savings analysis” instead of trying to account for changes in unpredictable markets.
Google (finally) updates their Dangerous Products or Services policy
Read the updated policy on the Google website.
NC Senate Updates SB429 Public Safety Act
SB429 was updated on July 10, 2025.
See SB429 and more relevant NC laws on the North Carolina State Laws resource page.
ENC law enforcement trains in Morehead City on death by distribution cases
Read the original article and watch the video on the WCTI News 12 website.
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.