Michael K. Williams died after taking fentanyl-laced heroin (Picture: Getty Images)
A New York City drug dealer has been sent to prison for 10 years following his involvement in the death of The Wire actor Michael K. Williams.
Irvin Cartagena, 40 – originally from Puerto Rico – admitted to selling the actor the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed him in April.
Williams, 54, overdosed in September 2020 and was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment one day after he reportedly bought drugs from Cartagena, a deal that was picked up and recorded on a nearby security camera.
The NYC figure apologised for his actions during his sentencing on Friday and was said to have admitted he was ‘very sorry’ for his part in the star’s death.
Cartagena – also known as Green Eyes – explained, as per NBC News: ‘I am very sorry for my actions. When we sold the drugs, we never intended for anyone to lose their life.’
According to People magazine, in a news release on Friday, the Puerto Rico native also received an additional five-year sentence of supervised release for conspiring to distribute heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogue – the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said.
He was found in his apartment after he overdosed (Picture: WireImage)
The actor starred in The Wire (Picture: FilmMagic)
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement regarding Cartagena’s sentencing following the TV star’s death: ‘On Sept. 5, 2021, Irvin Cartagena sold Michael K. Williams a fatal dose of heroin laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue.
‘Michael K. Williams tragically lost his life after using the drugs sold to him by Cartagena.
‘Although their product had already claimed one life, Cartagena and his co-conspirators continued to sell potentially lethal fentanyl-laced heroin.
‘This Office will tenaciously continue our enforcement efforts against unscrupulous drug dealers who distribute poison and exacerbate the scourge of the fentanyl epidemic.’
The actor starred in a variety of movies and TV shows (Picture: SundanceTV)
He was rose to fame for his role on HBO (Picture: Bleecker Street)
Cartagena was one of four men charged with involvement in a drug-trafficking organisation – known as the DTO – that ultimately sold the heroin laced with fentanyl to Williams.
In a final attempt to save his client from jail time, the drug dealer’s lawyer Sean Maher explained in a defence submission: ‘In a tragic instant, Mr Cartagena was the one who handed the small packet of drugs to Mr Williams – it easily could have been any of the other men who were there or in the vicinity selling the same drugs.
‘Sentencing Mr. Cartagena to double digits of prison time will not bring back the beautiful life that was lost.’
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Before his untimely death, Williams rose to fame for his portrayal of drug dealer robber Omar Little in HBO’s The Wire – in which he starred from 2002 to 2008.
He was also cast in Boardwalk Empire and Snitch and 12 Years A Slave.
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‘Michael K. Williams tragically lost his life after using the drugs sold to him by Cartagena’.