Casey Phillips passed away March 25 from an overdose. Three months later, a local couple has been charged with death by distribution, in connection with the case.
Tallulah – Two people have been arrested in relation to the March death of a Graham County man, on the first charges of their kind in the county.
Bobby “Little Bobby” Huel Pastell, 28, and Danielle “Nikki” Nichole Pastell, 36, have both been arrested on the charge of death by distribution in the overdose death of 30-year-old Casey Allen Phillips on March 25.
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 – equal with first-degree kidnapping – 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.
Death by distribution is a Class C felony.
The Graham County Sheriff’s office went forward with the arrests after awaiting an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death and N.C. State Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab results on items collected from Phillips’ bedroom. Detectives presented the evidence to a magistrate on June 29 to get final approval for the death by distribution charges.
Both suspects are being held on $150,000 bonds and are awaiting trial.
Phillips was found deceased when EMS and deputies responded to an "individual not breathing" call in the 50 block of Big Oak Drive. The responders found Philips’ body and observed items consistent with drug use at the scene.
Death by distribution has been on the books in North Carolina since 2019, when Gov. Roy Cooper signed it into law.