SC families of fentanyl deaths rally in York County for tougher drug laws

For Holly Alsobrooks, talking about her son publicly means speaking about his death from fentanyl.

Alsobrooks’ son Cody, then 25, died in 2020 from an overdose from just a single pill. She says fentanyl is like Russian roulette — death is a potential outcome if not addiction. The DEA says fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is 50 times more addictive than heroin. And police and prosecutors say it’s easy to get, cheap, and deadly.

But while Cody’s death is painful to talk about, it’s worth the discussion if it also means talking about the dangers of overdosing and pushing for tougher laws for those who deal fentanyl.

“People need to see what is going on with fentanyl,” Alsobrooks said.

Alsobrooks joined more than 20 other people from York County with family members who’ve died from fentanyl overdoses Monday outside the Moss Justice Center in York. During the rally, some chanted “fight, fight, fight” as they pushed for more accountability against drug importers and dealers. They held poster-sized pictures of their dead children and siblings.

Their rallying cry: the S.C. General Assembly should pass a law that makes it a crime to sell a deadly dose of fentanyl. A bill to do that stalled in the legislature this year.

“We are trying to prevent other people having to go through what we have been through,” said Denise Rhodes, whose 20-year-old daughter died from a fentanyl overdose in 2020. “We want laws that hold people accountable.”

Prosecutor: consequences should be more severe

Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett, York County’s top prosecutor, joined families Monday in the push for tougher laws because of the ongoing fentanyl crisis.

“If you sell fentanyl and someone dies, the consequences need to more severe,” Brackett said.

York County has averaged two fentanyl overdose deaths a week since 2022, officials said. And it’s not just here: Charlotte area police and prosecutors say fentanyl is a crisis across the state line that is coming from the southern border.

The Herald reported exclusively on July 15 that the last of five defendants in a Lake Wylie area federal fentanyl case pleaded guilty. In that case more than 60 pounds of fentanyl was seized in October 2022 from a mobile home that was used for making illegal pills. All five face 10 years to life in prison.

The amount of fentanyl seized in that 2022 case was enough to kill the entire 5 million-plus population of South Carolina.

Christina Settlemyer said her son, Jonathan, died from fentanyl overdose. A death by drug distribution law would hold the person who sold or gave the drugs responsible, Settlemyer said. North Carolina has a death by distribution law.

“I have a life sentence,” Settlemyer said. “We lost my son.”

Call it ‘poisoning,’ mother says

Drugs bought on the street are unregulated so there is no way to know what amount of fentanyl is in a street pill, Brackett said. Just a tiny amount of fentanyl is enough to cause a death. In the Lake Wylie case, drug agents seized presses and binders that were being used to make pills, Brackett said.

Melissa Anderko of Rock Hill knows all about the dangers of street pills. She said her 16-year-old son, Aiden bought two pills to help with anxiety as he was studying for a test. Aiden died in May because the pills were tainted with fentanyl, Anderko said.

“It can happen to anyone,” Anderko said..

Anderko also wants the public to use the word “poisoning” rather than overdose because of the stigma attached to the word overdose.

Carol Fancher of Lake Wylie said her son died in March 2023 from a fentanyl overdose. Fancher said fentanyl is chemical warfare being waged on the public.

“Our children are not safe,” Fancher said.

Brackett is also pushing another law that would require more jail time and medical treatment. The law would impose graduated sentences for addicts arrested who test positive fentanyl and give an incentive to get clean, he said. That law also has not been acted on by the S.C. Legislature.

Alsobrooks and others say they’re committed to helping and started a non-profit called fentanylkillsu.org. The group has held rallies at the S.C. statehouse, testified before the legislature and pushed for change.