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Michael Kay Williams, an acclaimed actor best known for his work on the iconic HBO series The Wire, passed away at the age of 54 years old back in September of 2021 as a result of an overdose. Now, about a year and a half later, a drug dealer has been charged in relation to his untimely death.
According to reports, Irvin Cartagena — reportedly known on the street as “Green Eyes” — has submitted a guilty plea to charges of conspiring to distribute drugs in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, April 5. As a result of his guilty plea, Cartagena faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years.
A second defendant — who prosecutors say, alongise Cartagena, “continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin around residential apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan even after they learned of the actor’s death” — also plead guilt on April 4.
Williams, who also starred in HBO projects such as Boardwalk Empire, The Night Of, and Lovecraft Country, overdosed on heroin after reportedly buying from Cartagena on a Brooklyn sidewalk, with the transaction being caught on a local CCTV camera.
Here are some further details on the charges, via the Associated Press:
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.
U.S. 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.”
In addition to his television roles, Williams was also an accomplished film actor, appearing in movies such as Gone Baby Gone, The Road, 12 Years a Slave, Inherent Vice, The Gambler, The Purge: Anarchy, Assassin’s Creed, Motherless Brooklyn, and more.