Dealer Pleads Guilty In Death Of Actor Michael K Williams

A Brooklyn drug dealer admitted to giving The Wire actor Michael K. Williams fentanyl-laced heroin, which was the cause of his death.

In a federal courtroom in Manhattan, Irvin Cartagena pleaded guilty to a charge of arranging the distribution of cocaine. US District Judge Ronnie Abrams set the sentencing date for August 18; during that time, Cartagena will be subject to a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of forty years.

In September 2021, the renowned actor overdosed in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment. He was a star in numerous TV shows and movies, including Boardwalk Empire.

Police reported that he passed away a short while after purchasing the heroin from Cartagena on a Brooklyn street in a transaction that was caught on camera.

Williams was killed by the heroin and fentanyl combination that Cartagena, 39, sold to him, according to the terms of a plea deal he made with the prosecution. Sean Maher, his attorney, declined to comment.

Unrelated to the actor, US Attorney Damian Williams stated in a statement that the sale took place in “full daylight in New York City, fuelling addiction and inflicting catastrophe.”

“In doing so, he dealt the fatal dose that killed Michael K Williams,” according to Mr. Williams.

Even after they knew of the actor’s passing, Cartagena and his alleged accomplices allegedly continued to distribute heroin that had been laced with fentanyl near apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, according to the prosecution.

On Tuesday, a second defendant in the case entered a guilty plea.

Williams passed away despite a police investigation in New York City that resulted in the placement of a hired informant conducting controlled heroin purchases on the same street as Williams.

The next day, the informant returned to the same group to purchase more narcotics, and while there, he also taped a conversation in which several of the participants discussed Williams’ overdose. One denied offering any fentanyl-containing medications for sale.

On The Wire, a fictionalized look at Baltimore’s foundations that ended in 2008 but is still widely seen online, Williams’ “stick-up boy” character Omar Little was based on a real-life individual.

He also acted in 12 Years a Slave, Assassin’s Creed, and other movies. He created another iconic character Chalky White in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

Williams had previously discussed his struggles with addiction in interviews.