Michael K. Williams, 54, was discovered dead in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment on September 6. Williams' death was declared an accident by the medical examiner's office at the time.
Four men have been charged with being members of a drug distribution crew that delivered a lethal combination of drugs to Michael K. Williams, the famed actor from 'The Wire' who overdosed just hours after purchasing fentanyl-laced heroin in a sale caught on surveillance camera video.
Irvin Cartagena, the guy shown on tape offering the pills to Williams on a Brooklyn sidewalk, was charged with directly causing the actor's death, according to investigators.
The New York City police department investigated Williams' death, but the charges were filed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who disclosed that the suspects had been under observation even before the actor's deadly overdose last September.
It was a sting reminiscent of the type shown on 'The Wire,' where Williams rose to prominence as robber Omar Little.
A hired informant working for the NYPD had been making controlled purchases of heroin on the same neighbourhood where Williams bought his narcotics for months. According to court documents, an undercover detective made one purchase only days before the actor received his deadly dose.
The bottles of pills recovered alongside Williams' body on Sept. 6 contained the same label, AAA Insurance, as the ones purchased by the officer.
The NYPD's informant returned the next day to acquire more narcotics from the same group, capturing a discussion in which several members of the crew discussed Williams' overdose. One person denied selling any fentanyl-containing medications.
Cartagena and the other three individuals in the case were apprehended on Tuesday. Three people made their first appearances in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday. Cartagena's first court appearance in Puerto Rico, where he was detained, is planned on Thursday.
It wasn't apparent who would represent him or speak on his behalf right away.
Overdose fatalities are a "public health crisis," according to US Attorney Damian Williams, who announced the charges with New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
“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,” Williams said.
Sewell said police detectives in Brooklyn “lived this case, never relenting in their investigation until they could bring a measure of justice to Michael K. Williams and his family.”
Williams, 54, was discovered dead in his penthouse residence in Brooklyn on September 6. The medical examiner's office declared Williams' death an accident at the time.
Using data from his mobile phone and licence plate scanners, police pieced together Williams' actions in the hours before his death.
According to police, the drug sale was seen on a surveillance camera on the block.
According to the complaint, Williams spoke with the group, and one of them placed his hand on the actor's shoulder in an apparent sign of recognition. According to the court documents, Cartagena then walked around a row of garbage cans, collected a plastic bag, and presented it to the actor. Authorities claimed the guys continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin in broad daylight amid apartment complexes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, despite knowing Williams had died from one of their products.
Hector Robles, 57, Luis Cruz, 56, and Carlos Macci, 70, all of Brooklyn, were also accused. Their lawyers did not respond to mails seeking comment right away. It wasn't apparent if they were the males shown on security film. At their initial court hearings, all three were ordered held.
The conspiracy accusations against all four entail a required minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in jail. Cartagena faces a required minimum of 20 years in jail and a maximum of life in prison if convicted of causing the actor's death.
According to a federal complaint, Cartagena was arrested in February 2021 on state narcotics charges in Brooklyn after selling four tiny waxy paper bags to an undercover investigator. He was on pretrial release following a firearms charge arrest in August 2020 at the time.
According to the complaint, he pled guilty to disorderly conduct in both incidents on August 26 and was sentenced to time served.