LIBERTY, N.C. — Three people died and two others were hospitalized after ingesting cocaine laced with fentanyl at a mobile home park Saturday, according to the Liberty Police Department.
Liberty Police, Fire and Randolph County EMS responded at Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, to Johnson’s Mobile Home Park on West Moffitt Avenue after receiving a call about unresponsive persons.
Officers found three individuals deceased at the scene. Two others were treated at Chatham Hospital and later released.
The deceased were identified as Gumesindo Ala Acoste and Noe Garcia Zuniga. The third victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of family members.
The Liberty Police Department requested assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Randolph County Special Emergency Response Team and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Vice unit.
Investigation determined that all five victims had ingested cocaine laced with fentanyl.
Xavier Da’Shawn Andrews, 28, of Greensboro was charged with three counts of death by distribution. He surrendered to law enforcement Saturday night and is being held in the Randolph County Jail under a $1 million bond.
Andrews also has multiple pending felony drug charges in Guilford County.
The case remains under investigation and additional charges may be filed.
Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid approximately 100 times more potent than morphine, is increasingly being mixed with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. As little as 2 milligrams can be lethal, depending on body size, tolerance and drug history.
Police are asking anyone with information about the distribution of these substances to contact local law enforcement immediately.
Police are asking anyone who has information about the sale of these deadly substances to contact their local law enforcement agency immediately.
LIBERTY PD – FULL STATEMENT
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is approximately 100 times more potent. Illicit fentanyl, primarily manufactured in foreign clandestine labs and smuggled into the United States through Mexico, is being distributed across the country and sold on the illegal drug market.
Liberty Police Department – Press Rlease
There is significant risk that illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl. Because of its potency and low cost, drug dealers have been mixing other drugs with fentanyl including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, increasing the likelihood of a fatal interaction.
Producing illicit fentanyl is not an exact science and two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage.
Signs and symptoms of fentanyl overdose are stupor, changes in pupillary size, cold and clammy skin, cyanosis – blue discoloration of the skin, respiratory failure leading to death and coma. Victims may also die of positional asphyxiation (being unconscious in a position that inhibits breathing) or aspiration (vomiting while unconscious and then breathing in the vomit).
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