Suspected drug dealers indicted in Georgia mother's overdose death

Prosecutors say the woman, 32, died after ingesting heroin laced with fentanyl

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Two Glynn County men face federal charges connected to the death of a 32-year-old mother who overdosed after ingesting heroin spiked with fentanyl, according to a federal complaint.

Donald Adams, 62, and Makeda Atkinson, 44, are charged with distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy with intent to distribute a controlled substance, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Georgia’s Southern District said Wednesday.

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Both men will remain in custody while they await trial on those charges. If convicted, they face anywhere from 20 years up to life in prison. Because the charges are federal offenses, they would not be eligible for parole. 

The charges stem from a joint local and federal investigation into Adams and Atkinson, who are suspected of selling heroin laced with fentanyl to drug users in the Glynn County area, including a 32-year-old woman who died last year, according to recently unsealed court documents.

Prosecutors said the woman bought drugs from the pair Dec. 28, 2017. Her daughter found her dead the following day inside her parents’ home. An autopsy found she died from acute fentanyl toxicity. Her death was later linked to drugs sold by Adams and Atkinson, prosecutors said.

“Our nation’s growing opioid crisis is horrific, as personified by this senseless overdose death of an addict whose drug-ravaged body was found by her 5-year-old daughter,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine. “Our office is committed to battling these self-serving merchants of death.”