Mount Olive man facing 25 years in Fentanyl overdose death case

RALEIGH — A Mount Olive man is facing federal drug charges that could result in a minimum of 25 years in prison after he was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Dylan Jones, 23, was charged with drug trafficking and the distribution of fentanyl leading to a fatal overdose last week, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jones now faces a litany of federal charges, including one count of distribution resulting in death, three counts of distribution of fentanyl, and one count of possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The illegal trafficking and use of fentanyl is a statewide crisis. Overdose deaths have been on the rise with 3,961 suspected overdose deaths in 2021, 4,243 in 2022, and 3,181 through September of this year, according to North Carolina’s chief medical examiner. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, was involved in 79% of the 2022 deaths. Through July of this year, the chief medical examiner reported 2,045 suspected fentanyl deaths.

The urgency of this issue prompted Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd to write a letter to the federal Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Administration in October. They expressed concern over the inflow of fentanyl into the state, highlighting the grim statistics of over 13,000 North Carolinians dying from fentanyl overdoses in the past nine years.

“The overdoses are being driven by various factors including the open border, drug cartels using social media apps to sell drugs, and the Chinese Communist Party’s failure to stop fentanyl precursors from being shipped to drug cartels,” wrote Sens. Tillis and Budd. “During fiscal year 2023, over 25,000 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the southern border alone. This number does not include the fentanyl evaded detection and made it into communities across North Carolina and the nation.”

Jones is alleged to have supplied counterfeit pills containing fentanyl to a victim who died in 2022, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. He is also alleged to have sold fentanyl on three different dates and during at least one of those sales, was carrying a firearm. Jones was arrested on state charges on November 2 and on federal charges on November 7.  Jones is currently in custody. The Government says it will seek pre-trial detention.

“The Sheriff’s Office and the United States Attorney will continue to work diligently to dismantle drug trafficking operations in our community and ensure those responsible for the deaths of our loved ones are held accountable,” said Duplin County Sheriff Stratton Stokes. “I am thankful for their partnership as our county faces the fentanyl crisis that touches every corner of our nation.”