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Upstate man sentenced to prison after deadly overdose in WNC

PCSO
Polk County Sheriff's Office

An Upstate man is expected to spend the next decade behind bars for his role in a deadly overdose in Western North Carolina.

As we previously reported, the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded to a home in Saluda in 2022. Upon arrival, 40 year old Joseph Hancock Marshburn was found unresponsive and was pronounced dead.


An autopsy revealed his death was caused by a toxic mix of fentanyl, cocaine and an opioid called kratom. Investigators say that cell phone records led them to determine that 36 year old, Damon Lamar Pace sold Marshburn the drugs that killed him.

Pace entered a guilty plea on a charge of manslaughter, Tuesday. He's sentenced to a minimum of just over 9 years and could serve more than a dozen years in prison.