PEMBROKE, N.C. – A North Carolina family impacted by addiction is pushing for help from state leaders.

A piece of legislation in the General Assembly would increase the penalties for dealing certain drugs, such as fentanyl. 

What You Need To Know

  •  There is a piece of legislation in the General Assembly that would increase the penalties for dealing certain drugs, such as fentanyl

  •  It would also hold dealers more responsible in deaths

  •  Leslie Locklear lost two sons to addiction in 2022

  • One had taken drugs that were laced with fentanyl

Growing up, Lauren Locklear always wanted to hang out with her older brothers, Ryan and Matt.

"They would get tired of me and I would tell on them,” Locklear said. "It was good to have older brothers."

But as they got older, those age differences mattered less, and the family would get together, just enjoying each other’s company. Now, their family is smaller and missing two essential pieces.

They can no longer call Ryan or Matt. To be near them physically, they must go to the cemetery.

Both brothers, buried side by side, died after struggles with addiction.

“When I come here, I think about, you know, my boys had dreams," their mother, Leslie Locklear, said. "They wanted to marry and have their own families, have children. I feel like before their addiction, any father, father-in-law would have been proud to have either, either one of my boys as a son-in-law. And they would have made terrific fathers and a great husband. But it's, it's just devastating.”

Leslie Locklear says her sons were gifted. They loved people, loved adventure and were affectionate and humble.

But in February of 2022, Matt, just 31 years old, overdosed. Nine months later, Leslie Locklear found her oldest son, Ryan, unresponsive in bed.

They’re still waiting on the autopsy results for Ryan, but they know what took Matt’s life.

“He ended up getting something that had three times the lethal amount fentanyl, in his system,” Leslie Locklear said. “According to what they told me, it killed him instantly.”

Both of her sons confided in her about their struggle. They sought help.

Leslie Locklear tried everything she could to help them, but says the demons were too strong.

“I saw both my boys cry. They didn't want to be that way. And as a mother growing up, you want to protect your kids when they're growing up. I mean, when they get a booboo, you can put medication and a bandage on it. But when they got older, there was nothing I could do. I mean, I tried everything I could do, but there was nothing I could do to save both my sons,” Leslie Locklear said.

There is an effort in the state legislature to help families like the Locklears.

A bill passed through the Senate that would increase the criminal penalties for people dealing certain drugs, such as fentanyl, and hold them more responsible in deaths.

Ryan and Matt’s grandfather, Bobby Ray Maynor, hopes it gets full support.

“They don't care nothing about your children. Back in the Old West they’d hang them for just stealing a cow and they steal our children's lives now and it don't mean a thing to them,” Maynor said.

It’s been devastating for the whole family, especially Lauren Locklear's young son.

There’s grief, but also anger. Leslie Locklear says she never expected her sons to try drugs, but there needs to be more support for people who are struggling.

She used to view her hometown as Mayberry, but in recent years the devastation of drugs has taken its toll.

“I feel like it is an epidemic in our community, not only our community, but our state and our country. You know, it's it's everywhere. And a lot of families are struggling," Leslie Locklear said.