Four men believed to be part of a drug distribution ring have been arrested and charged in the overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams.
All four men were arrested Tuesday, including one defendant who was arrested in Puerto Rico according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
According to the release, late last year New York City’s medical examiner ruled Williams, 54, died of acute drug intoxication related to a heroin overdose after he was found dead in his penthouse apartment.
The four men charged are Hector Robles, Luis Cruz, Carlos Macci, and Irvin Cartagena, who was arrested in Puerto Rico.
“Since at least in or about August 2020, a drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”) has been operating in the vicinity of 224 South 3rd
Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York,”{ the re4lease states. “The DTO sells heroin laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analog on the street in front of, and from an apartment inside of, the apartment building located at 224 South 3rd Street, among other places. On or about September 5, 2021, members of the DTO sold Michael K. Williams heroin, which was laced with fentanyl and a fentanyl analog, with Cartagena executing the hand-to-hand transaction, as shown in the below screenshots from surveillance video.”Commissioner Sewell added NYPD detectives involved, “lived this case, never relenting in their investigation until they could bring a measure of justice to Michael K. Williams and his family.”
Williams received fame from his role in The Wire as Omar Little, a homosexual gangster who robs drug dealers but leaves everyday citizens alone. Williams has starred in other movies including Brooklyn’s Finest and Triple 9. Williams also hosted a show on Vice called Black Market where he talked to and met with people involved in illicit markets including guns, drugs, credit cards, and even fraud of government programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program.