Two organizations that support families who have lost children to fentanyl overdoses came together on Tuesday as a defendant, Albert Green, briefly appeared in Wilson County Superior Court. Green, 23, is charged with distributing drugs that led to the death of 17-year-old Jacob Puente Castro, who died from an overdose on September 25.
Families from Wilson’s Moms on a Mission and the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina attended the hearing. Green, who has been out on a $100,000 bond, faces several charges, including drug-related felonies. His case was delayed until December 10.
Jacob’s parents, Felicia and Isaac Puente Castro, said seeing Green in court was difficult. It’s hard to look at him and know he caused so much pain, said Felicia. She described her son as the love of our life” and hopes for justice, not just for her family but for others impacted by fentanyl.
The Puente Castro family was joined by others who have lost children to fentanyl, including Patricia Harris Atkinson of Wilson, whose son died in 2020. She emphasized the importance of supporting each other in this tragic situation. Barb Walsh, who founded the Fentanyl Victims Network after her daughter died from fentanyl in 2021, echoed this sentiment. She mentioned how parents of overdose victims often feel alone but find strength in numbers when they attend court together.
Walsh also discussed the dangers of fentanyl, which is often mixed into other drugs, leading to accidental overdoses. She believes tougher laws are needed to hold drug dealers accountable and prevent more deaths.