Dunwoody police track down drug dealer connected to deadly overdose

DUNWOODY, Ga. - A Norcross man is charged with felony murder in connection to a fatal overdose in Dunwoody. 

"The opioid crisis and these overdoses is horrendous," said Dunwoody Police Sgt. Michael Cheek.

Police say they take deadly drug overdoses very seriously. When a father came home last August and made the devastating discovery that his 34-year-old son had died from a drug overdose, Dunwoody Police launched an investigation to find out from where those drugs came.

"Through a very large collective of investigative means such as cell phone data and GPS data, we were able to find out where he purchased these drugs," said Sgt. Cheek.

With the help of Gwinnett County police, the investigation led them to a 44-year-old Norcross man, Ivan Lightsey. Warrants were secured and Lightsey is now charged with felony murder.

"We were able to determine he purchased drugs from him. Fentanyl was involved and there were some other drugs," said Sgt. Cheek.

Jerel Lightsey (Gwinnett County Jail)

Lightsey is currently serving time in the Gwinnett County Jail on multiple counts of trafficking and other drug-related charges, unrelated to the Dunwoody case.

Police say they hope this murder charges brings a sense of relief to the family.

"I can only imagine, as a father myself, if that was my son, and they made an arrest in this case, I would be relieved and feel as though there was some sort of justice for my son," said Sgt. Cheek.

They also hope it sends a message to drug dealers.

"If you sell drugs to one of our residents outside and come back, and they die in our city from using drugs, we're going to seek you out and investigate you and if we find enough, probably because we will charge you," said Sgt. Cheek.

This is the second time Dunwoody police have tracked down and charged the person who sold drugs to a person that led to a fatal overdose. The first time was in 2019.