Wilmington man pleads guilty in overdose death

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington man who sold heroin to a woman who died of an overdose will spend up to nearly seven years in prison.

On Tuesday, Teon Clark pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the May 6, 2019 death. On that date, emergency crews responded to a home on Kings Drive and found a woman who wasn’t breathing.

According to a news release, deputies found hypodermic needles and empty bags of heroin stamped “tick tick boom” near the victim’s body.

Due to the nature of the call, detectives with the New Hanover County Vice and Narcotics Unit responded along with detectives from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division to investigate the possible overdose. Through their investigation, detectives determined that a man who went by the alias of “Gunna” or “T” sold the heroin to the victim.

Detectives ran the alias “Gunna” through law enforcement databases and learned that it was associated with Teon Clark.

Detectives then arranged to purchase six bags of heroin from Clark. When Clark arrived at the prearranged meeting spot to sell the heroin, he was placed under arrest and detectives located six bags of heroin stamped “tick tick boom.”

In an interview with detectives, the defendant stated he sold heroin to the victim earlier in the day and was planning on selling the victim six more bags of heroin when he was arrested.

He also told detectives that the bags he sold the victim were “strong” and that he sold the heroin to the victim because he needed the money.

An autopsy revealed that the victim died of mixed drug toxicity and found lethal levels of fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, metabolites of heroin, and metabolites of cocaine in the victim’s blood.

Additionally, the six wax bags seized from Clark labeled “tick tick boom” were tested at the State Crime Lab and found to contain heroin, acetyl fentanyl, and fentanyl.