NYC Drug Dealer Receives 10-Year Sentence in Connection with Actor Michael K. Williams' Tragedy
Michael K Williams
Photo Credit: JOHN LAMPARSKI 2019//GETTY IMAGES
By: Joshua Martin
40-year-old Irvin Cartagena, of Aibonito, Puerto Rico, was sentenced Friday for his role in the fentanyl-laced heroin death of “The Wire” actor Michael K. Williams. Williams overdosed in his Brooklyn apartment, dying hours after a security camera caught him purchasing heroin from Cartagena in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams after Cartagena pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs back in April.
“I am very sorry for my actions. When we sold the drugs, we never intended for anyone to lose their life. - Cartagena ”
Prosecutors were pushing for a sentence of at least 12 years, while the court’s Probation Department recommended a 20-year sentence due to his extensive criminal history. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams shared in a statement that those who participated in the sale of the drugs were aware that someone else also died from it prior to this tragedy. The conglomerate continued to sale the illicit drug even after the death of Michael K. Williams. Cartagena faced a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and could have faced up to 40 years behind bars; however, Abrams deemed the recommendations too severe.
“This sentence, while severe, is sufficient but not greater than necessary.”
Williams, who was 54 when he passed away in September of 2021, famously portrayed Omar Little in HBO’s hit crime drama “The Wire” which ran from 2002 to 2008. In addition, Williams starred in films and other TV series such as “Boardwalk Empire”, the Netflix drama series “When They See Us” and “Lovecraft Country” in which he won a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
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