RALEIGH, N.C. – A Charlotte man has been sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison for distributing heroin that led to the overdose death of a Ft. Bragg soldier.
Cory Dean Maieritsch, 33, was sentenced to 54 months in prison for distribution of heroin. Maieritsch had pleaded guilty to the single-count indictment on March 1, 2021.
The case began after the overdose death of a U.S. Army specialist on December 10, 2015, at his barracks on Ft. Bragg. Toxicology confirmed that the soldier had died from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl.
Investigators recovered 16 empty glassine bags of heroin and fentanyl from the scene, with some bags labeled ‘Crazy Samurai’ and others labeled ‘Killing Time.’ The U.S. Army Criminal Investigatory Laboratory (USACIL) tested the residue from the bags and found that the Crazy Samurai bags contained heroin and the Killing Time bags contained acetyl fentanyl.
A friend of the deceased identified Maieritsch as the likely supplier of the drugs. Investigators reviewed the deceased’s cell phone communications and discovered extensive text message conversations about drugs with Maieritsch. On December 9, 2015, the deceased requested four bags of heroin just before 9:00 a.m. Maieritsch texted within the hour that he was waiting outside of the barracks.
Maieritsch delivered two additional bags during his lunch break from work, following a second request from the deceased. Finally, text messages showed that Maieritsch made a third delivery that evening, following the deceased’s request for eight additional bags. While the discussion over text concerned the purchase of heroin, the USACIL testing showed that some of the bags of purported heroin contained fentanyl, which is significantly more potent.
G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.
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Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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