Three men are accused of selling fentanyl to a Cameron woman died of an overdose earlier this year.
Ashton Taylor Potter, 23, was found dead by sheriff’s deputies on July 10 at a home in the 600 block of Red Hill Road. An autopsy report received on Nov. 8 by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office shows that Potter died from “acute fentanyl and alcohol intoxication,” according to a news release issued Monday by the agency.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin and can be fatal in low doses. The men suspected of selling and delivering the drug to Potter were apprehended last week, the sheriff’s office said.
Steve Junior Murchison, left, Malik Jalill Newsome and Lameek Tavon Cattle.
Steve Junior Murchison, a 27-year-old resident of Southern Pines, was placed in the Moore County Detention Center on Nov. 18 under a $500,000 secured bond. He is charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver a Schedule I controlled substance, selling of a Schedule I controlled substance, delivery of a Schedule I controlled substance, conspiracy to sell a Schedule I controlled substance, conspiracy to deliver a Schedule I controlled substance, selling a Schedule I substance within 1,000 feet of a school and involuntary manslaughter.
Lameek Tavon Cattle, a 23-year-old from West End, was jailed the same day under a $350,000 secured bond. He is charged with conspiracy to sell a Schedule I controlled substance, conspiracy to deliver a Schedule I controlled substance, selling a Schedule I substance within 1,000 feet of a school and involuntary manslaughter.
Malik Jalill Newsome, 23, of Aberdeen, was placed in the detention center under a $75,000 secured bond on Nov. 22. He is charged with conspiracy to sell a Schedule I controlled substance, conspiracy to deliver a Schedule I controlled substance, selling a Schedule I substance within 1,000 feet of a school and maintaining a vehicle to keep and sell a controlled substance.
Murchison and Cattle are both due in Moore County District Court on Dec. 5. Newsome is expected to make his first court appearance on Dec. 4.
In September, the sheriff’s office announced that Jeremy Justin Holder, 34, and Heather Lynn Chastain, 20, had been arrested for allegedly failing to notify law enforcement officers of Potter’s death. They were both at the home when her body was found by investigators.
Heather Lynn Chastain, left, and Jeremy Justin Holder.
Holder, a Sanford resident, is charged with felony concealing or failure to notify in the death of a person and felony aiding and abetting in the concealing of a death. Chastian, a Cameron resident, is charged with the same offenses.
Potter, who is survived by her parents and five siblings, “loved to cook, fish and sit by a campfire,” according to her obituary. Her funeral service was held July 14 at New Covenant Fellowship Church in Carthage.
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