Source: Courtesy of HBO / HBO
The drug dealer accused of selling fentanyl-laced heroin to the late Michael K. Williams has pleaded guilty to the charges against him, according to New York Southern District Court.
On April 5, Irvin Cartagena, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of narcotics conspiracy for selling the fatal drug that led to The Wire star’s death in 2021. Cartagena, a member of a Brooklyn drug trafficking organization, allegedly sold the fentanyl-laced drug from August 2020 to January 2022, well after Williams’ passing.
According to the Department of Justice, Cartagena and his organization often sold the deadly drug concoction near South 3rd Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. On Sept. 5, 2021, surveillance footage captured the Brooklyn based drug dealer selling Williams heroin laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue, near South 3rd Street. Williams died Sept. 6, 2021, as a result of using the laced substance.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. The dangerous substance has become a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses across the U.S. Notable stars like Gangsta Boo and Master P’s daughter Tytyana Miller died as a result of using the powerful drug.
NYPD officials told NPR that undercover police brought drugs from Cartagena on South 3rd street multiple times. The product packaging often displayed various logos including Gatorade, IKEA and AAA insurance.
When Williams was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment on Sept. 6, police uncovered a drug bag with an AAA logo. After the item was sent into a lab for further testing, officials detected traces of cocaine, heroin, lidocaine, fentanyl and caffeine in the narcotics.
On Wednesday, Cartagena pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analogue, fentanyl and heroin. He could face up to 40 years in prison.
Michael K. Williams has been open about his battle with addiction
Michael K. Williams, a native of Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood, skyrocketed to stardom after he appeared on HBO’s hit crime series The Wire in the 2000s. The five-time Emmy nominee shined as the notorious stick up man Omar Little on the popular TV show. Williams later appeared in Boardwalk Empire, The Night Of and Lovecraft Country.
Throughout his career, the actor and former dancer was open about his struggles with addiction. During a 2020 interview with Men’s Health, the multi-talented star talked in detail about the “pain” and trauma that led to his life of addiction.
“[I had] a lot of trauma early on that I didn’t have the proper tools to deal with. My mom was very strict. The beatings were very severe growing up. She was determined to not have her two sons run amok,” the Breaking star confessed to the outlet.
“She had a brother who passed. He was a fighter and went to jail for murdering someone with his bare hands. It was a way of protecting me,” he continued. “It wasn’t an easy childhood, being sensitive, vulnerable. I’m not alpha, in any sense [of] the word, of the title. And so I got picked on a lot. It plagued me, especially [during] my teenage years. It was one of the things that led me to attempt suicide. I was 17. I was lost. I was very awkward with the ladies. Drugs were there. And I was already self-medicating. And I just got lost.”
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