Zada Louise Lail
West Buffalo – For just the second time in history, charges of “death by distribution” have been filed in Graham County, after a local man overdosed on a lethal combination of fentanyl and methamphetamine last year.
Zada Louise Lail, 52, was arrested Friday on a true bill of indictment in connection with the death of Dalton Varnel Anderson, who was found deceased upon the arrival of Graham County EMS to 97 Dick Branch Road on March 31, 2022. Autopsy results showed that Anderson had 19 nanograms of fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system; 0.5 is considered fatal.
“The sheriff’s office is working on other cases like this and we need assistance from the public in these cases,” Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit said Monday. “We’re going to fight hard for the families and the victims.”
Lail was transported to the Henderson County Detention Center after her arrest and placed under a $150,000 bond. As of Monday, she was still in custody.
Hoxit and Det. Graham Page met with Anderson’s mother Tammy and nephew Kyle Ingersoll on Monday to deliver the news. Former Det. Patrick Cable was also commended for his work on the initial investigation.
“Dalton had a really big heart; he would help anybody that needed it, even if they did him wrong,” Tammy said. “He’s missed by his family and friends. He was taken too soon; the time we’ve lost is something none of us will ever get back.
“Losing a son is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with. A piece of my heart died with him.”
A Class C felony, death by distribution is a relatively-new charge on the books – Gov. Roy Cooper signed it into law in 2019 – and had never been presented in Graham County until the passing of 30-year-old Casey Allen Phillips on March 25, 2021. Phillips was found unresponsive at 50 Big Oak Drive. Bobby Huel Pastell and Danielle Nichols Pastell were charged with death by distribution June 29, 2021.
Death by distribution makes it a felony to sell, cocaine, opioids or methamphetamine to anyone who dies as a result of using said drugs. Anyone indicted under the law could face up to 19 years in prison or – in the case of repeat offenders – second-degree murder.
The maximum penalty for aggravated death by distribution is up to 40 years in prison.
“I never thought of him as an uncle; he was more like a brother to me,” Ingersoll said. “He’s gonna miss out on my kids. It’s hard; he loved them.
“The sheriff’s office has went above and beyond. Other counties and most departments wouldn’t have put in the work this office has. We really do appreciate that.”
“I told you, we’ll be until the end, no matter what happens,” Page responded. “There are other families going through this, but she (Tammy) is not powerless. She has a voice to put with Dalton and with all the power that she has now, she can help so many others and show the face behind the drugs – the face behind the pain, which is her and her family.”