Mount Holly man charged in overdose death

A Mount Holly man is jailed on charges that he provided the drugs that caused another man to fatally overdose.

Joseph Michael Dean, 41, is accused of selling fentanyl-laced heroin to 35-year-old Chris Dagnen on March 3, 2022, according to an indictment issued earlier this month. He was charged with death by distribution. He remains in Gaston County Jail under a $1 million bond.

Kasey Dagnen, Chris Dagnen's sister, said that she is glad Dean was charged.

"I want justice. I think that him being off the streets right now is the best thing that could happen because he doesn't have the ability to sell or to kill someone else right now because he's locked away," she said. "It would not bring Chris back, but we lost him, and he was my best friend, you know? I can't get that back, and it's been hard."

She said her brother, a graduate of Kings Mountain High School, was very kind.

"Just very loving and sweet. He wouldn't hurt anything," she said.

Chris Dagnen was preceded in death by his 23-year-old brother, Devin Valentine, who was hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver in January of 2021. The driver, Hubert Joseph Laine, was convicted of hit and run causing a serious injury or death and sentenced to 30 months of probation.

Kasey Dagnen said that the loss of both her brothers has been devastating.

"It's something you can't put into words," she said. "Especially for my mom. She's lost two boys."

Dagnen said that Christmas for their family was difficult this year.

"Christmas was terrible, because I did everything with Chris. It was like when you see me, you seen him. So we were always together. There's an emptiness for both of them," she said. "Addiction is a terrible disease. It doesn't just affect that person. It affects everybody in the family."

Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at kfohner@gannett.com or at 704-869-1850.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Mount Holly man charged with death by distribution in overdose death