A Brooklyn drug supplier pleaded guilty Wednesday to delivering “The Wire” actor Michael K. Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin, causing his dying.
Irvin Cartagena’s plea to a demand of conspiring to distribute medicine was entered in Manhattan federal court. Sentencing was set by U.S. District Decide Ronnie Abrams for Aug. 18, when Cartagena will deal with a necessary minimal of 5 years in prison and the probability of as many as 40 years.
The famed actor, who also starred in movies and other Tv set series including “Boardwalk Empire,” overdosed in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment in September 2021. Authorities mentioned he died hours soon after purchasing the heroin from Cartagena on a Brooklyn sidewalk in a deal that was recorded by a safety digicam.
Cartagena, 39, signed a plea agreement with prosecutors stipulating that the mix of heroin and fentanyl he bought Williams resulted in his demise. His attorney, Sean Maher, declined remark.
U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams, who is not connected to the actor, explained in a assertion that the sale happened in “broad daylight in New York Town, feeding addiction and resulting in tragedy.”
“In undertaking so, he dealt the lethal dose that killed Michael K. Williams,” Williams claimed.
Prosecutors explained Cartagena and his alleged co-conspirators continued to promote fentanyl-laced heroin all over household apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan even after they learned of the actor’s loss of life. Another defendant in the circumstance pleaded responsible Tuesday.
Williams’ dying arrived even with an investigation by the New York Law enforcement Office that placed a compensated informant building managed heroin purchases on the same block the place Williams purchased medication.
The working day soon after, the informant went back again to acquire much more medication from the exact same group and recorded a conversation in which some of them talked about Williams’ overdose. A person denied marketing any medicines made up of fentanyl.
Williams’ “stick-up boy” character Omar Small on “The Wire” — a fictionalized look at the underpinnings of Baltimore that ended in 2008 but continues to be common in streaming — was based on a serious-existence determine.
He developed an additional classic character as Chalky White in HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and also appeared in “12 Decades a Slave,” “Assassin’s Creed” and other movies.
In interviews, Williams experienced spoken about his battles with dependancy.
Michael K. Williams, finest identified for his job as Omar Minimal in “The Wire,” was identified lifeless in his Brooklyn apartment.
