Dealer pleads guilty to selling fentanyl-laced heroin that killed actor Michael K. Williams
(Buying heroin on the street in Brooklyn, Image credit: Twitter)
On April 5, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Irvin Cartagena, aka “Green Eyes,” pled guilty yesterday to conspiring to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and fentanyl analogue. As part of the conspiracy, Cartagena distributed the fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in the death of actor Michael K. Williams. Cartagena pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams.
Williams, who starred in TV’s “The Wire” and also appeared in films and other TV series including “Boardwalk Empire,” overdosed in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment in September 2021. Authorities said he died hours after buying the heroin from Cartagena on a Brooklyn sidewalk in a deal that was recorded by a security camera. ~ The Hollywood Reporter
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Irvin Cartagena sold fentanyl-laced heroin in broad daylight in New York City, feeding addiction and causing tragedy. In doing so, he dealt the fatal dose that killed Michael K. Williams. This Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison, exploit addiction, and cause senseless death in our community.”
(Irvin Cartagena: Dealer pleads guilty in Michael K. Williams’ death, Image credit: Twitter)
Yesterday, Cartagena, 39, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of “conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue, fentanyl, and heroin,” which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. As part of his guilty plea, Cartagena stipulated that the substances he conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute resulted in the death of Michael K. Williams.
According to court documents, on or about September 5, 2021, members of the drug trafficking organization, the “DTO”, sold Williams heroin that was laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue, with Cartagena executing the hand-to-hand transaction. Williams died as a result of using that fentanyl-laced heroin.
Despite knowing that Williams died after being sold the DTO’s product, Cartagena and his co-conspirators continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin in broad daylight amidst residential apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The DTO sold heroin laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue on the street in front of, and from an apartment inside of, the apartment building located at 224 South 3rd Street, among other places.
(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York)
(Michael K. Williams cover photo, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
