Four People Arrested in Connection with Overdose Death of The Wire Star Michael K. Williams
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Four people have been arrested in the death of The Wire star Michael K. Williams, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, shared the news in a video statement:
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on the arrests of four defendants in connection with the overdose death of Michael K. Williams pic.twitter.com/EtrtYTr7xF
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) February 2, 2022
“Michael K. Williams, a prominent actor and producer, tragically overdosed in his New York City apartment from fentanyl-laced heroin,” he said. “Today, along with our law enforcement partners at the NYPD, we announce the arrests of members of a drug crew, including Irvin Cartagena, the man who we allege sold the deadly dose of drugs to Michael K. Williams.”
Damian Williams went on to highlight the misuse of fentanyl as a “public health crisis,” adding, “And it has to stop.”
“Deadly opioids like fentanyl and heroin don’t care about who you are or what you’ve accomplished. They just feed addiction and lead to tragedy,” he continued. “The Southern District of New York and our law enforcement partners will not give up. We will bring every tool to bear. And we will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison, exploit addiction, and cause senseless death.”
Manhattan federal authorities revealed that Cartagena, who was reportedly caught on a security camera selling drugs to Williams, was arrested in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
In addition to Cartagena, the SDNY announced the arrests of Hector Robles, Luis Cruz, and Carlos Macci, all of whom were charged as “members of the fentanyl and heroin conspiracy.”
The four men now face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison with the maximum being 40 years.
A press release on the arrests added that “Cartagena is also charged with causing the death of Williams in connection with the narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.”
