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3 face drug charges following probe into suspected fentanyl death
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 Sheriffโs 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 Sheriffโs Office Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Investigation Division, the Uniform Patrol Division, the Criminal Interdiction Team and the Animal Control unit.
Sampson County Sheriffโs 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 womanโs death on Nov. 18, one suspected to be tied to a fentanyl overdose.
Continue reading “3 face drug charges following probe into suspected fentanyl death”Leland man pleads guilty to death by distribution
Read the original article and watch the video on the WECT 6 website.
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – A Leland man has pleaded guilty to charges involving a fatal overdose in 2022.
42-year-old William McKinley Huckaby pleaded guilty to death by distribution and attempted trafficking in methamphetamine, according to a release from the District Attorneyโs Office.
James Ray Lewis, 42, died from fentanyl toxicity on June 24, 2022. Investigators from the New Hanover County Sheriffโs Office discovered a syringe and other drug paraphernalia near his body, which suggested fentanyl ingestion.
Detectives later discovered text messages between the two men. In one message, Huckaby encouraged Lewis to steal vacuums from a retailer in exchange for drugs, according to authorities.
The other messages also indicate that Huckaby had previously profited from tools Lewis stole in exchange for drugs, according to the DAโs Office.
Law enforcement claimed that Huckaby had roughly 26 grams of methamphetamine and a dosage unit of fentanyl on him when he was arrested.
โWilliam Huckaby encouraged those severely addicted to opioids to steal merchandise for him with the promise of fentanyl for payment,โ District Attorney Jason W. Smith said. โHuckabyโs exploitation of the addicted represents why our lawmakers enacted the Death by Distribution law. In many instances, severe addiction disrupts the decision-making parts of the brain, and those who profit while exploiting this addiction will be sent to prison.โ
Huckaby was sentenced to 76 to 104 months in prison and 2 years in the residential recovery program TROSA afterward.
From revival to recovery: Some paramedics are changing the front line of addiction care
Read the original article on the North Carolina Health News website.
By Rachel Crumpler
A life lost in Buncombe County in 2022 still weighs on โ and motivates โ Shuchin Shukla, a family physician who specializes in addiction medicine.ย
A community paramedic had responded to an overdose involving a person recently released from jail. After reviving them, the paramedic told the patient about a soon-to-launch program that would start people on a medication used to treat opioid addiction after an overdose.
โThat would be amazing if you had it now, I would like to start now,โ the patient said, according to a shift note of the encounter.
But the program was still 10 days from launch.
Soon after, the person used again, experienced a second overdose and went into cardiac arrest. They later died at the hospital.
โFor the team working on this, the case hit home that every moment of every day matters for patients. At any minute, theyโre at risk of dying or having an overdose,โ Shukla said. โThatโs how critical this is.โ
For months, Shukla had been working with Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services to launch Buncombe Bridge to Care, a project to equip paramedics to administer buprenorphine โ a medication proven to ease opioid withdrawal symptoms, reduce cravings and support long-term recovery for people with opioid use disorder โ when responding to overdoses or others in the community struggling with addiction.
Continue reading “From revival to recovery: Some paramedics are changing the front line of addiction care”OCME Reports Update
The North Carolina Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has published a new set of reports, visit the OCME reports page to view the new reports.
HIDDEN DANGER: As fentanyl takes over opioids, innocent victims fall prey
Read the original article on the Daily Record website.
Theresa Mathewson and Susan Burkhart never asked for this. They never asked for their mission in life to be educating others about the dangers of fentanyl, but after they both lost a child to fentanyl poisonings thatโs what theyโre doing.
And now โ that drug theyโre warning others about โ is popping up in all kinds of places and hurting all kinds of people, including the innocent.
It was added to the percocet pills that killed Mathewsonโs son and Burkhartโs granddaughter. Dunn police found it in pills that looked like Flintstones vitamins. Sampson County medical workers found it in cigarettes. It was even in the bottle of water that killed Sophia Walsh, whose mother leads the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.ย
โFentanyl is everywhere,โ Lt. Patrice Bogertey, of the Cumberland County Sheriffโs Office, told The Daily Record in April. โFentanyl is commonly mixed with heroin, cocaine, meth, and other narcotics to enhance their effects. It is available in various forms, including nasal sprays, liquids, pills, and powders.โ
Dealers have hidden it in liquid eye drops and Advil liquid gel pills, in candy and in edibles.
Continue reading “HIDDEN DANGER: As fentanyl takes over opioids, innocent victims fall prey”Burlington man charged with death by distribution in fatal overdose case
Read the original article on the ABC45 News website.
BURLINGTON, N.C. โ The Burlington Police Department has charged Christopher Jacob Tidwell, 29, with death by distribution following a six-month investigation into a fatal overdose. The incident occurred on March 26, 2025, in the 2500 block of South Church Street in Burlington, N.C. Tidwell, a Burlington resident, was already being held on pending trafficking fentanyl charges related to the same investigation. He has not received a bond for these charges.
The Burlington Police Department emphasized its commitment to holding fentanyl traffickers accountable and pursuing justice for overdose victims.
“Fentanyl continues to be a leading cause of fatal overdoses across the nation,” the department stated, adding that it will “continue to work aggressively to identify and prosecute those who distribute this deadly substance.”
Police, federal agents make rare fentanyl lab bust; 2 arrested
Read the original article and watch the video on the WSOCTV9 website.
STANLEY, N.C. โ Gastonia Police Vice detectives, working with federal partners, said they made a rare bust after dismantling a major fentanyl pill manufacturing lab in Stanley.
The six-month undercover investigation led to the seizure of more than 10,000 fentanyl pills, two pill press machines, and the arrests of two men, Gastonia police said.
The operation, conducted on Thursday led authorities to a residence on Bennington Drive in Stanley.
Inside, investigators discovered a highly contaminated environment, necessitating the use of hazmat protection for evidence collection.
The investigation, known as operation Blue Hammer, led to the seizure of two portable pill press machines used to manufacture counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills.
Itโs rare to seize a functioning lab, police said.
The estimated street value of the seized narcotics is between $300,000 and $400,000.
Two suspects, Phillip McGill, Jr., 29, and Tryiq Curry, 27, were arrested and are being held on a $1 million bond each.
Charges are pending as the investigation continues.
Gastonia Police Chief Trent Conard praised the operation, stating, โThis case represents months of meticulous, coordinated work between our detectives and our federal and local partners. Fentanyl has taken too many lives and destroyed too many families.โ
Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page commended the agencies involved, saying, โI want to commend the Gastonia Police Department and our federal partners for their unrelenting efforts to eradicate fentanyl from our community.โ
The Gastonia Police Department extended special thanks to their federal partners, Stanley Police Department, Gaston County Police Department, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for their vital assistance in this investigation.
Sheriff Ronnie Fields announces the arrest of one individual following an investigation into an overdose death in the West End area of Moore County
Newport woman sentenced for 2nd-degree murder
Read the original article on the WNCT TV9 website.
BEAUFORT, N.C. (WNCT) โ Amanda Alice Blanton, 36, of Newport, pled guilty to 2nd degree murder in the death of Daniel Andrew Brisson, 46, also of Newport, and has been sentenced to 238-298 months in the Department of Adult Correction during the most recent term of Carteret County Criminal Superior Court.
The case was investigated by the Carteret County Sheriffโs Office, and the lead investigator was Courtney Howell. Assistant District Attorney David L. Spence prosecuted the case and Resident Superior Court Judge Clint Rowe presided over the matter.