Raleigh man accused of selling drugs from Airbnbs charged in fatal overdose
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- Maurice Johnson was indicted on charges of death by distribution and manslaughter.
- Authorities allege he used Raleigh Airbnbs and storage units to traffic drugs.
- A 43-year-old Holly Springs man died in the May 7 overdose.
(Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to take out identifying details of the victim.)
A Raleigh man accused of trafficking drugs from local Airbnbs was indicted last week in the fatal May overdose of a Holly Springs man.
Maurice Albert Johnson, 54, was indicted Jan. 6 on charges of death by distribution through unlawful sale of fentanyl, involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to sell fentanyl and possession with intent to sell or distribute fentanyl in the May 7 death of a 43-year-old Holly Springs man, according to court documents.
Available court records didn’t offer additional details in the case.
Johnson also faces pending charges in at least 11 other cases in Wake County, court records show:
- A charge of being a violent habitual felon filed Sept. 26.
- A charge of being an armed habitual felon filed Sept. 26.
- A charge of being a habitual felon filed Sept. 26.
- A charge of failing to appear in a felony case filed Sept. 26.
- A charge of first-degree kidnapping filed Sept. 25.
- A charge of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury filed Sept. 25.
- Two charges of possession of firearm by a felon, one filed Sept. 9 and one filed Sept. 25.
- Four charges of manufacturing/selling/distributing/purchasing a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a park and one charge of possession of drug paraphernalia in an Aug. 27 incident.
- Charges of identity theft and conspiracy to sell or distribute cocaine filed July 29.
- A charge of possession of a stolen motor vehicle in a Feb. 28, 2023, incident.
Johnson has prior convictions in Maryland and North Carolina, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty Nov. 18, 2020, to common law robbery, robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a stolen firearm in Wake County, and was released from prison in November 2022.
In Maryland, Johnson was convicted of robbery with a deadly weapon in December 1992 and was again convicted of bank robbery in May 1998, this time in federal court, according to court documents.
In Raleigh, search warrants indicate police accuse Johnson of “renting different Airbnb[s] in the City of Raleigh for the purposes of drug distribution, consumption, and prostitution,” investigators wrote.
On July 29, Raleigh police were called to a Cabarrus Street Airbnb after the property owner allegedly saw people on a doorbell camera coming and going from the rental home and using drugs on the front porch , according to search warrants. Johnson allegedly rented the property from July 24 to Aug. 1.
“I obtained video from the property owner from the doorbell camera capturing Johnson speaking to an unknown [man] discussing his frustrations regarding Fire, EMS, and Police being called to the address on a previous date,” one search warrant states. “Johnston stated that he ‘needed to know these things’ and that he ‘moves a certain way’ indicating that if police arrive to this address, it could disrupt his operation in drug distribution.
Officers seized “a trafficking quantity” of cocaine components, methamphetamine, amphetamine, psilocybin, $1,162, three handguns and a digital scale from the Airbnb, according to the search warrant.
A July 30 search of a storage unit purportedly belonging to Johnson recovered another three handguns, “drug paraphernalia,” and collections of magazines and bullets, another search warrant shows. Informants told police Johnson allegedly used a number of storage units rented under other people’s names.
Johnson remained without bail in the Wake County jail as of Monday afternoon.
This story was originally published January 12, 2026 at 3:52 PM.
