Four men are facing charges in relation to the drug overdose death of The Wire actor Michael K. Williams, said New York prosecutors on Wednesday. Williams, 54, was found dead in his apartment in Brooklyn on September 6- just hours after buying fentanyl-laced heroin in a deal recorded on security camera video. The medical examiner’s office ruled Williams’ death an accident, at the time.
During the investigation, police tracked Williams’ movements in the hours before his death by using data from his mobile phone and license plate readers. Police said that a security camera on the block recorded the drug deal.
Irvin Cartagena, Hector Robles, Luis Cruz and Carlos Macci — are names of the four men allegedly charged by the New York Prosecutors. Cartagena has been identified as the man captured on camera handing Williams the drugs on a Brooklyn sidewalk, and he has been charged with directly causing the actor’s death, said authorities.
Williams is widely known for starring as Omar Little in the popular television series. The late actor who played the iconic Baltimore stick-up man in the ground-breaking show, was found dead in his apartment in New York.
The men have been charged with conspiracy to distribute the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed Williams, as per a statement issued by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Attorney Damian Williams said that Cartagena allegedly had sold the deadly dose. If convicted, he will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.
New York’s chief medical examiner had ruled the death of the Emmy Nominated actor due to “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine.”
In The Wire, Williams essayed the role of a gay armed robber who specialised in holding up drug dealers, for which he garnered a lot of appreciation. He was widely known for portraying Chalky White on the HBO’s series Boardwalk Empire.
Williams had openly spoken in interviews about his past struggles with drug addiction. The actor had admitted to the US media that he had spent much of his earnings from The Wire on narcotics.
(With AP inputs)
