DEALER IN MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS OD GETS 10 YEARS IN PRISON

Irvin Cartagena, a New York City man who sold Michael K. Williams fentanyl-laced heroin that led to the actor’s accidental overdose death, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Williams, an Emmy-nominated actor who played the drug dealer-robbing stickup man Omar Little on “The Wire,” died at 54 in his apartment in September 2021 hours after buying the drugs from Cartagena, 40, prosecutors said in a statement. They added that Cartagena and his criminal group continued to sell the same drugs after the overdose.

Cartagena was arrested in February of last year after allegedly fleeing to Puerto Rico. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute the drugs in April and faced a sentence of five to 40 years. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams ultimately gave Cartagena a less harsh punishment than prosecutors suggested after his attorney noted Cartagena was a drug addict and character witnesses described him as humble and hard-working when sober.

“I am very sorry for my actions,” Cartagena said in court before the sentence was announced. “When we sold the drugs, we never intended for anyone to lose their life.”

Abrams told Cartagena she hoped the sentence “will help you move forward on a more productive and law-abiding path.”

Williams’s fans flooded social media with tributes after his death. Other than his role on “The Wire” in the 2000s, which was acclaimed for challenging depictions of gangsters and queer people, critics praised the energy and charisma he brought to his characters in HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” and “Boardwalk Empire.”