A Brooklyn drug dealer pleaded guilty Wednesday to providing The Wire actor Michael K Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin, causing his death.
Irvin Cartagena’s plea to a charge of conspiring to distribute drugs was entered in Manhattan federal court. Sentencing was set by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams for August 18, when Cartagena will face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and the possibility of as many as 40 years.
The famed actor, who also starred in films and other TV series including Boardwalk Empire, overdosed in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment in September 2021. Authorities said he died hours after buying the heroin from Cartagena on a Brooklyn sidewalk in a deal that was recorded by a security camera.
Cartagena, 39, signed a plea agreement with prosecutors stipulating that the mix of heroin and fentanyl he sold Williams resulted in his death. His lawyer, Sean Maher, declined comment.
US Attorney Damian Williams, who is not related to the actor, said in a statement that the sale occurred in “broad daylight in New York City, feeding addiction and causing tragedy”.