A Brooklyn drug dealer pleaded guilty Wednesday to supplying “The Wire” actor Michael K. Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin, which caused his death.
Irvin Cartagena’s plea to a conspiracy to distribute drug charge that killed Williams in September 2021 was filed in Manhattan federal court.
U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams has set sentencing for August 18, when Cartagena will receive a mandatory prison sentence of at least five years and the option of as many as 40 years.
The famous actor, who has also starred in movies and other TV series including “Boardwalk Empire,” overdosed on September 6, 2021 in his Brooklyn penthouse.
He died hours later, according to authorities buying the heroin from Cartagena on a Brooklyn sidewalk in a deal caught on security camera.
Irvin Cartagena’s (pictured left) plea to a charge of conspiracy to distribute drugs that killed actor Michael K. Williams (pictured right) in September 2021 was filed in Manhattan federal court
Cartagena, 39, signed a plea deal with prosecutors stipulating that the mix of heroin and fentanyl he sold Williams resulted in his death. His attorney, Sean Maher, declined to comment.
He was left back on the streets without bail both times under New York’s bail reform provisions.
The drug charges were combined in August 2021, and Cartegena avoided jail time by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, the Daily Beast reported.
The ring Cartagena was involved in mainly focused on fentanyl and heroin-laced fentanyl as they sold the drugs outside their apartment, where Cartagena, known as ‘Green Eyes’, met Williams on September 5, 2021 to sell him the drugs. .
Video surveillance captured the moment Cartagena handed over the drugs to Williams, a day before the actor died.
The actor, who rose to fame as drug dealer Omar Little on The Wire, was found unconscious and face down in the living room of Williams’ Williamsburg apartment the next day by his cousin. He was pronounced dead by medics who arrived at the scene.
US attorney Damian Williams, who is not related to the actor, said in a statement that the sale took place in broad daylight in New York City, fueling addiction and causing tragedy.
“In doing so, he dispensed the lethal dose that killed Michael K. Williams,” Williams said.
The famous actor, who has also starred in movies and other TV series including “Boardwalk Empire,” overdosed on September 6, 2021 in his Brooklyn penthouse.
Actor Michael K. Williams, (left, dressed in black) bought drugs from Irvin Cartagena (in blue pants) on Sept. 5, the day before he died of a fatal overdose of heroin mixed with fentanyl
Street camera footage showed Williams entering the street where Cartagena and his associates allegedly ran their drug trade
Prosecutors said Cartagena and his alleged co-conspirators continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin around residential apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan even after learning of the actor’s death.
Another suspect in the case pleaded guilty on Tuesday.
Williams’ death came despite an investigation by the New York Police Department that placed a paid informant making controlled heroin purchases on the same block where Williams purchased drugs.
The day after, the informant went back to buy more drugs from the same group and recorded a conversation in which some of them talked about Williams overdosing. One denied selling drugs containing fentanyl.
Williams’ “stick-up boy” character Omar Little on “The Wire” — a fictionalized take on the Baltimore underpinnings that ended in 2008 but is still popular in streaming — was based on a real-life figure.
He created another classic character as Chalky White in HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and also appeared in ’12 Years a Slave’, ‘Assassin´s Creed’ and other films.
In interviews, Williams had spoken about his battle with addiction.
Although Williams’s fatal overdose was initially ruled an accident, NYPD Deputy Chief John Chell directed the 90th Precinct Detective Squad and the Brooklyn North Narcotics Group, who were in charge of the investigation, to treat the death as homicide .
Williams was discovered in his penthouse apartment, located in Brooklyn’s trendy Williamsburg neighborhood. The expensive complex is located on the water and offers a beautiful view of Manhattan
A swarm of police officers were also spotted at the scene, after Williams’ cousin reportedly called 911 on Sept. 6. In the picture, they take bags of evidence from the actor’s apartment.
According to the Daily beasts research in the last day of Williams’ life, the actor drove from Manhattan to Williamsburg on September 5.
Street camera footage showed Williams entering the street where Cartagena and his associates allegedly ran their drug trade.
When he reached the apartment, Williams was seen walking down the street to five men, one identified as Cartagena.
Williams handed the man a wad of cash, and Cartagena could be seen counting the bills before reaching into a paper bag that had been stored next to a blue trash can in front of the apartment.
Prosecutors said that at the time, Cartagena handed Williams the fentanyl-containing heroin that would kill him the next day.
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid similar to morphine but 50 to 100 times more potent. It can cause death when taken in high doses or in combination with other substances.
Detectives noted that the men seemed relaxed throughout the transaction, exchanging phone numbers and chatting, completely unaware that it was all being captured by cameras.
“The building has had these cameras pointed directly at it all day,” Detective Mark Gurleski told the Daily Beast.
Cartagena, 39, signed a plea deal with prosecutors stipulating that the mix of heroin and fentanyl he sold Williams resulted in his death. His attorney, Sean Maher, declined to comment
Prosecutors said Cartagena and his alleged co-conspirators continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin around residential apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan even after learning of the actor’s death.
Williams then drove to his apartment, not stopping on the way.
Detectives also noted that Williams appeared to be behaving strangely during his final hours, parking his car in a prohibited spot near his residence, despite neighbors describing him as “responsible” and “considerate.”
Chell called it “very unusual.”
Police said their timeline for Williams ended just as he stepped out of his penthouse and missed a call from his cousin, Dominic DuPont, who checked on his uncle the next day only to find him dead.
According to the investigative documents submitted by Gurleski to the Ministry of Justice, the police had quickly entered Cartagena and he was identified only a day later.
Investigators then bought drugs from him on two separate occasions, once on September 8 and a week later on September 15.
The drugs were handed over in envelopes marked “AAA Insurance” that matched the envelope found on Williams when he died.
Investigators then built their case against Cartagena and tracked down his co-conspirators before finally arresting them on Tuesday.