Michael K Williams: Four men charged in overdose death of The Wire actor
2 February 2022, 22:35 | Updated: 3 February 2022, 00:26
Four men have been charged in connection with the death of The Wire star Michael K Williams, who overdosed last September on fentanyl-laced heroin.
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The actor, best known for playing Omar Little in the hit HBO crime series, died at his home in Brooklyn in September last year.
New York City's medical examiner earlier ruled that Williams, 54, died of acute drug intoxication on September 6. He was found dead by family members in his penthouse apartment. At that time, the medical examiner's office ruled Williams' death an accident.
The four men are accused of narcotics conspiracy. Police say they sold drugs laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid blamed for thousands of drug deaths.
The suspects include Hector Robles, Luis Cruz and Carlos Macci - who were all arrested on Tuesday and are expected to make their first court appearances on Wednesday.
Irvin Cartagena was arrested on Tuesday in Puerto Rico and is expected to go before a judge on Thursday.
According to court papers, Williams' death resulted from drugs sold by a drug trafficking organisation that has operated since at least August 2020 in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighbourhood.
The court papers contained photographs, including one in which defendant Irvin Cartagena can be seen executing the hand-to-hand transaction, authorities said. They added that the screenshots were taken from surveillance video.
Authorities said that the men continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin in broad daylight in apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan even after knowing that Williams had died from one of their products.
The US attorney said the crimes and charges resulted from a "public health crisis".
"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," the prosecutor said.
Ms 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".
