One of the four drug dealers reportedly involved in the overdose death of The Wire actor Michael K. Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Wednesday.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced the guilty plea from Irvin “Green Eyes” Cartagena, 39. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Cartagena pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analog, fentanyl and heroin.
“Irvin Cartagena sold fentanyl-laced heroin in broad daylight in New York City, feeding addiction and causing tragedy,” Williams said. “In doing so, he dealt the fatal dose that killed Michael K. Williams. This Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison, exploit addiction, and cause senseless death in our community.”
The other men charged with the Lovecraft Country actor’s death were Hector Robles, Luis Cruz and Carlos Macci, who were arrested in February after a surveillance video captured the drug deal.
The video captured a hand-to-hand transaction with Cartagena and Williams on Sept. 5, 2021. Some of the investigation information that came up in court was that the drug trafficking organization (“DTO”) operated (between August 2020 and February 2022) in the vicinity of 224 South 3rd Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.
Furthermore, they discovered that Cartagena and the co-conspirators continued distributing fentanyl-laced heroin in “broad daylight” amid apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan even after knowing Williams had died.
If the 39-year-old is found guilty, he’s facing a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years.
As Sis2Sis reported, Williams died on Sept. 6, 2021, in his home in Brooklyn. After an autopsy, it was announced that the cause of death was an “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p=fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine,” ruling it an accident.
