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Emily Jean Robinson
The daughter of Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson was found guilty Tuesday of death by distribution in a 2021 overdose caused by fentanyl that prosecutors say she provided.
Emily Jean Robinson, 43, also was convicted of possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a controlled substance, maintaining a dwelling or vehicle for the use or sale of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The jury’s verdict came nearly two years after prosecutors indicted Robinson on charges related to the death of Robert James Starner Jr., according to court documents. Prosecutor Lisa Marie Coltrain argued that Robinson supplied Starner with the fentanyl that ultimately led to his death in September 2021.
Judge Edwin Wilson sentenced Robinson to five to seven years in prison. Robinson received credit for time served of 276 days spent behind bars while awaiting her trial, which began on May 20.
Robinson had no prior felony convictions, according to court documents.
Robinson and her attorney, George E. Hunt, immediately appealed the conviction.
In 2019, the N.C. General Assembly enacted the death by distribution law, making it a felony to sell a controlled substance that causes a death. In December 2023, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a revision of the law that prescribing harsher penalties and lower the burden of proof for prosecutors.
