Man charged in Michael K. Williams’ overdose gets more than 2 years in prison

A 71-year-old man has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for his involvement in the 2021 fatal overdose of “The Wire” star Michael K. Williams.

Nearly two years after the beloved TV actor was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment in September 2021, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams sentenced Carlos Macci to two and a half years in prison Tuesday.

Abrams told Macci that selling heroin and fentanyl “not only cost Mr. Williams his life, but it’s costing your freedom,” according to the Associated Press. Macci, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute narcotics, was one of four men charged in the overdose death of Williams.

Williams, known for his work on hit shows including “The Wire,” “Lovecraft Country” and “Boardwalk Empire,” died Sept. 6, 2021. He was 54.

Weeks later, New York City officials announced that the actor, who had been poised to win his first Emmy Award for his “Lovecraft Country” role, died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine.” His death was ruled an accident.

Earlier this month, “The Wire” co-creator David Simon called for leniency in Macci’s case.

In a three-page letter penned as part of a filing by Macci’s lawyer to Judge Ronnie Abrams of Federal District Court, Simon called upon his close knowledge of Williams’ public service and the very nature of “The Wire” to support a case for mercy for the defendant.

“Michael would look at Mr. Macci and hope against hope that this moment in which he finds himself might prove redemptive, that his remaining years might amount to something more, and that by the grace of love and leniency, something humane and worthy might be rescued from this tragedy,” Simon wrote.

The letter continued with Simon describing the HBO series as “a careful critique of our drug prohibition and the human cost underlying those policies.” “The Wire,” which starred Williams as the openly gay stickup man Omar Little, explored the narcotics scene in Baltimore through a variety of perspectives. Simon’s letter also touched on Williams’ work to shed light on and challenge America’s “rates of incarceration and our reliance on drug prohibition.”

He added: “I know that Michael would look upon the undone and desolate life of Mr. Maci [sic] and know two things with certainty: First, that it was Michael who bears the fuller responsibility for what happened.”

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Williams’ nephew, Dominic Dupont, told the judge that he believed Macci can start a new.

“It weighs heavy on me to see someone be in a situation he’s in,” Dupont said. “I understand what it is to be system impacted.”

Irvin Caragena, one of the other three men charged in Williams’ overdose, pleaded guilty in April to a charge of conspiring to distribute drugs. His sentencing is set for Aug. 18.

Times staff writer Astrid Kayembe and the Associated Press contributed to this report.