Suspect Charged with Felony Murder in Dunwoody Drug Overdose Death

Ivan Jerrell Lightsey, 45, a Gwinnett County Jail inmate facing separate felony charges, is accused of giving the victim’s fatal narcotic dose.

Norcross Man Arrested for Alleged Role in Fatal Drug Overdose

The Dunwoody Police Department has charged a Norcross man with a narcotics overdose fatality from last summer. Ivan Jerrell Lightsey, 45, a Gwinnett County Jail inmate facing separate felony charges, is accused of giving the victim’s fatal narcotic dose. On August 2, 2023, police responded to a drug overdose complaint in a home on Coronation Drive in a quiet area off Spalding Drive. The person was dead when police arrived.

Lightsey, who has been imprisoned without release since August 29, is charged with selling controlled narcotics, trafficking methamphetamine and morphine, cocaine possession, and firearm possession.

The allegations include crimes including driving with a suspended license and resisting police. He also faces felony murder charges, the second time Dunwoody Police have prosecuted a drug dealer with such a heinous crime in connection with an overdose death.

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Dunwoody Police Sergeant Mike Cheek indicated that reported drug overdoses have been on the rise, with officers responding to over 156 overdose incidents in the past six years, resulting in 35 tragic deaths.

In response to these alarming figures, the life-saving drug Naloxone has been administered by Dunwoody Police officers over 79 times since 2015, with the majority of incidents involving opioids such as heroin, fentanyl, and various prescription pills.

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