There’s been a break in the death of actor Michael K. Williams.
A Brooklyn man, Irvin Cartagena, 30, was charged today (February 2), with selling a deadly dose of fentanyl-laced heroin to Michael. Irvin and three others, Hector Robles, 57; Luis Cruz, 56; and Carlos Macci, 70, were accused of being part of a drug-trafficking ring that continued to sell the drug even after knowing it had killed Michael. N.Y. Times reports the drug dealers operated in broad daylight in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Security footage captured the sale of the fatal dose to Michael in a hand-to-hand transaction in his Williamsburg neighborhood on September 5, 2021. Michael was found dead in his apartment the next day. The medical examiner ruled that his death had been caused by “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine.”
The publication says a lawyer for Mr. Cartagena could not immediately be identified. He was arrested in Puerto Rico and is expected to be brought to court tomorrow (February 3). Mr. Macci’s lawyer declined to comment. Lawyers for the two other men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since last year, the four men charged had been on the authority’s radar. All four were charged with one count of narcotics conspiracy. The U.S. attorney’s office said that Mr. Cartagena was also accused of causing Mr. Williams’s death in connection with the conspiracy.
Michael was best known for his portrayal of the gay stickup man Omar Little in the television 2002 series The Wire.