Published: Sep. 20, 2024 at 11:41 AM EDT|Updated: Sep. 20, 2024 at 3:24 PM EDT
EDENTON, N.C. (WITN) – Two people have been indicted for three overdose deaths that happened in one Eastern Carolina County.
The SBI announced this morning the arrests of Steven Patrick, Jr. and Ja’Nyryah White, both of Edenton.
The three deaths happened last December, along with several other non-fatal ODs, within 15 days of each other.
The victims were 66-year-old Janice Chilcutt, 61-year-old Ronald Adderly, and 24-year-old April Tapia.
Chilcutt and Adderly died in Edenton, while Tapia’s death was in the county.
A Chowan County grand jury indicted Patrick on two counts of death by distribution for the Edenton deaths, while White was charged with one count of death by distribution for the Chowan County death.
The SBI was brought in to investigate the deaths at the request of the Edenton Police Department and the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office.
Patrick was given a $500,000 secured bond, and White’s bond was $250,000 secured. Both suspects remain in jail.
Forsyth County leaders discussed plans for more than $36 million in opioid settlement money, $6 million of which is headed straight to Winston-Salem.
Forsyth County leaders discussed plans for more than $36 million in opioid settlement money, $6 million of which is headed straight to Winston-Salem.
This money will be stretched over an 18-year span; distribution of the funds started about two years ago.
During the information session that discussed this settlement money, county and municipal leaders discussed ways the community can partner together to combat the opioid crisis.
King Mayor Rick McCraw says one strategy they’re implementing is educating seniors on how to handle Narcan.
“Because a lot of seniors now are raising their grandchildren or maybe another senior mate that may have taken their medicine twice, and they need to have Narcan,” McCraw said. “To be educated to administer Narcan if it arises if you need to do that.”
But the focus is also on young people.
Cheryl Wilson lost her son to fentanyl in 2020. She says the next step in this conversation is erasing the stigma surrounding Narcan.
“It enables breathing, it enables life, it enables a family to remain intact,” Wilson said. “I distribute naloxone to anyone in need, sometimes who are not in need, because I feel like they might need it eventually. And it’s how I keep my son alive.”
County leaders say this opioid settlement has some limitations; it must be used for evidence-based treatment and prevention.
The opioid crisis has ravaged communities and families across the Carolinas. Watch this Queen City News special report on fentanyl in the Carolinas on YouTube.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — According to the CDC, tens of thousands of people die each year from fentanyl. It’s an issue affecting people across the country, and right here in North Carolina.
Heaven Leigh Nelson, a 24-year-old victim of fentanyl. (Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)
Officials have been working on solutions for years to get fentanyl out of the state and country.
Just two milligrams of this powerful synthetic opioid is enough to kill the average person, and it does just that, every day.
“She loved everyone, and everyone loved her,” said Patricia Drewes of her daughter, Heaven Leigh Nelson. Drewes said in her daughter’s 24 years on this earth, she loved photography, the arts and people.
“She used to tell me all the time that there was no such thing as strangers. The strangers were friends that we just hadn’t met yet and that’s the way she lived her life,” she added.
Drewes said one day, Heaven went to a party.
“Something happened to her at a party—something tragic—and that set her into a tailspin. So, my daughter did suffer from a substance abuse disorder and that was caused by this tragic event,” Drewes said.
Her daughter went to a rehabilitation center in Kentucky for help.
“Someone brought her back home against my wishes. They had sent me a message saying they wanted to bring her back. You know, that she wanted to come home and I refused to bring her home because I wanted her to finish the program,” Drewes said.
She said Heaven came back home to Vance County, N.C. just before she received the call every parent fears.
“On a Monday night, January 28, 2019, and my fiancé answered the phone, and I heard him say oh God oh no,” Drewes said. “I think that my mind knew but my heart didn’t want to accept that it was about my daughter.”
Heaven passed away and it was not until months later that Drewes said she learned fentanyl took her daughter’s life. At the time, she says, she knew nothing about fentanyl.
“Absolutely nothing. No one was talking about illicit fentanyl in 2019. I had no clue,” said Drewes. “It felt like someone had punched me in my face and a gut punch because to me, illicit fentanyl, is, that’s a poisoning. That’s murder. And that’s what it felt like when I read the fentanyl. And I’m like, what is fentanyl?”
“A larger issue every single day”
Just the tiniest bit of fentanyl, two milligrams, is enough to kill the average person.
“It’s not just those that have a substance use disorder dying in this country. Everyone’s children are dying. We have infants, we have toddlers, we have teenagers, young adults, those with substance use disorder, and those without—dying. You know, it affects everyone,” said Drewes.
According to data from the North Carolina Division of Health and Human Services, in 2012, 140 people died from fentanyl state-wide. In 2021, the number skyrocketed to 3,117. The most-recent finalized data available comes from 2021, according to the department.
In Wake County in 2012, there was a more than 8,700% increase in deaths from fentanyl during that same time period.
In Durham County, there was an 8,900% increase in deaths from fentanyl from 2012 to 2021.
“Well, unfortunately, Mary, it’s becoming a larger issue every single day. And that’s not an over-exaggeration. For example, last year, my deputies seized approximately 3.7, little less than four grams of fentanyl. And earlier this year, we have seized over 300 grams of fentanyl,” said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.
At the sheriff’s office, evidence technicians handle suspected fentanyl in plastic bags. The “controlled contraband” was seized by the sheriff’s office. In the room with the evidence is Narcan, just in case.
“We’ve seized in pills. We’ve seized pill presses along with it. It’s been laced. Marijuana is being laced with fentanyl. So, we’re seeing it in unimaginable places,” said Sheriff Birkhead. “This is an industry that is making money. Fentanyl is far cheaper than any other drug to manufacture or to make these days. We know that this is not just a North Carolina or East Coast problem. The precursors for fentanyl come from China. The drugs are coming up from the southern border. They’re coming across from the northern border, and they’re just infiltrating cities all across the country. And unfortunately, it has made its way to Durham.”
Provisional data from the CDC states in 2023, there were an estimated 74,702 deaths from synthetic opioids, which it says is primarily fentanyl. That’s down slightly from 76,226 in 2022. Provisional data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from June 2024 shows “fentanyl positive” deaths also trending downward. These are deaths where fentanyl was detected but the person’s official cause of death has not been ruled/determined.
Turning tragedy into advocacy
While there are reported decreases in deaths, Drewes tells us, there is so much work to do. After her daughter’s death, she founded ‘Forgotten Victims of North Carolina,” is one of two state representatives for the North Carolina chapter of Drug-Induced Homicide Foundation, and is the Vice President of ‘Lost Voices of Fentanyl.’
“We are the largest fentanyl advocacy group in the country. We host a national event every year at the national monument, and we march to the white house,” said Drewes.
Sometimes attending these advocacy events by her side is her daughter’s son. “She was my only child so he will be my only grandchild and that’s what I call him. He’s my gift from God and Heaven.”
(Photo courtesy Patricia Drewes)
Drewes told CBS 17 she wants more people held accountable in these cases. In North Carolina, there is a criminal charge called death by distribution. However, she says no one has been charged in connection to her daughter’s death.
How to access naloxone, other resources in NC
In North Carolina, there is a statewide standing order for naloxone, commonly known by the brand name, “Narcan.” It authorizes pharmacists to dispense naloxone to any person meeting the criteria.
Under this order, it is available without a prescription at most retail pharmacies in the state. It is also covered under most insurance policies. It is also available at local health departments and many syringe service programs.
According to preliminary SSP data from DHHS, more than 114,000 naloxone overdose rescue kits were distributed last year. For more information about naloxone and other statewide resources, visit the NCDHHS website or https://naloxonesaves.org/.
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.
Medical examiner Dr. Steven Campman told 60 Minutes that more than two doses of naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reverse opioid overdoses, might be necessary to save the life of someone who has overdosed on fentanyl. “60 Minutes” is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen’s Top 10.
See the original video clip and read the article on the 60 Minutes website.
Fentanyl, which is often hidden in counterfeit pills, is fueling the worst drug crisis in U.S. history. Last year the synthetic opioid killed more than 70,000 Americans.
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.
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.
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.
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — A local nonprofit is working to raise awareness about the dangerous effects of fentanyl on communities across North Carolina.
Off Interstate 85 in Guilford County stands a billboard with the names and faces of fentanyl victims from across the state.
“This horrible, horrible thing is murdering our kids, our family, our friends,” said Race against Drugs founder Mike Loomis. “This billboard shows the state of North Carolina, Guilford County, and all 99 counties that fentanyl is rampant.”
Loomis says the billboard was designed with the help of the families of victims and survivors, many of whom gathered Sunday to reflect on how the drug has impacted their lives.
