Four men believed to be members of a drug ring have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of actor Michael K. Williams.
If you’ll recall, Williams passed away as the result of acute intoxication with heroin, cocaine, and the deadly contaminant fentanyl back in September, shocking fans. His death was ruled accidental.
Authorities believed Williams’ death was the result of heroin laced with the deadly opioid fentanyl, which has triggered thousands of accidental overdose deaths in recent years.
According to The Associated Press, court documents linked the actor’s death to drugs sold by a Williamsburg Brooklyn-based drug trafficking organization that has been in operation since at least August 2020.
Police had photo documentation showing one of the defendants, Irvin Cartagena, executing a hand-to-hand transaction of what is believed to be fentanyl-laced narcotics to Williams directly on September 5, 2021 – just hours before the actor was found unresponsive inside his penthouse apartment.
Authorities say their investigation found that the men in question continued to sell fentanyl-laced drugs for months after Williams’ death, even with the knowledge that their product was responsible.
All four men were arrested on Tuesday, with one defendant taken into custody in Puerto Rico. Three of the men are expected to face a Manhattan federal judge to address narcotics conspiracy charges based on the distribution of fentanyl-laced heroin, and all four are charged in connection with Williams’ overdose death.
New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Brooklyn detectives “lived this case, never relenting in their investigation until they could bring a measure of justice to Michael K. Williams and his family.”
“It has to stop,” added U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the prosecutor in this case. “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.”