A 72-year-old drug dealer has been jailed over the death of Michael K. Williams.
The ‘Wire’ actor died from an accidental overdose in September 2021 and now Carlos Macci has been jailed for 30 months and will then undergo three years of supervised release, with the first year as an inpatient in a drug treatment facility after pleading guilty to charges including distributing narcotics and conspiring to possess.
He told the judge: “I would like to say, your honour, I’m sorry for what has happened.”
Earlier this month, ‘The Wire’ creator David Simon urged the judge in Manhattan to show some leniency towards Macci, insisting “no possible good” could come from sending the man to jail.
He wrote in a letter for the New York Times newspaper: “What happened to Mike is a grievous tragedy.
“But I know that Michael would look upon the undone and desolate life of Mr. Macci and know two things with certainty: First, that it was Michael who bears the fuller responsibility for what happened.
“No possible good can come from incarcerating a 71-year-old soul, largely illiterate, who has himself struggled with a lifetime of addiction.”
And the ‘Boardwalk Empire’ actor’s nephew Dominic Dupont – who found Williams’s lifeless body in his Brooklyn apartment - also admitted he was concerned about the possibility of the drug dealer going to prison.
He said during the sentencing: “It weighs heavy on me to see someone be in a situation he’s in. I understand what it is to be system impacted.”
The ‘Lovecraft Country’ actor’s death was previously ruled as being due to “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluoro-fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.”
Dupont previously discussed finding his uncle’s body after calling to see him when he grew “concerned” he hadn’t had contact from Williams for some time.
He told ‘Red Table Talk’: "I was shopping with my wife...
"We made the decision to go to his house and I went upstairs, opened up his door, and it was quiet — Michael always played music — that wasn't the case."
Dupont walked into Williams’s apartment and called his name but didn't get an answer.
He recalled: “I went upstairs, opened up his door, it was quiet. Michael always played music. That wasn’t the case.
“I stuck my head in and said, ‘Uncle Mike, are you in here?’ And I observed him… deceased. I immediately called 911 and they said, ‘Listen, do you want to start some compressions?’ And I said, ‘I’m telling you … he’s deceased. He’s gone. He’s cold."