Man Sentenced To Prison For Selling Drugs Used In Fatal Overdose

MOORESVILLE, NC — A Mooresville man charged in the fatal overdose of a 22-year-old woman found dead in a vehicle parked in a lot on Brawley School Road late last year has been sentenced to spend at least seven years in prison after he pled guilty to a list of charges including involuntary manslaughter.

Justin Wayne Kauffman, 24, was arrested April 24 and charged with second degree murder in the death of Alexandria Leigh McNeely, who was also of Mooresville.

McNeely purchased drugs containing fentanyl from Kauffman, according to police.

On Nov. 6, Kauffman pled guilty in Iredell County Superior Court to charges of involuntary manslaughter, selling a Schedule II controlled substance, possession with intent to sell or deliver Schedule II substance and manufacturing/selling/delivering/possessing a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, Mooresville police said in a statement Friday.

He has been sentenced to serve 87 to 145 months in prison, MPD said.

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“The arrest and subsequent prosecution of Justin Kauffman sent the message to our community that we will not tolerate people illegally selling and providing these dangerous opioids, such as fentanyl, which continue to destroy lives,” District Attorney Sarah Kirkman said in a statement.

McNeely, 23, was found around 9 a.m. Dec. 3 in a 2004 Kia Rio in the Brawley Commons Shopping Center parking lot, and pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics. Her body was transported to North Carolina Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem for an autopsy.

"The investigation revealed McNeely died of a drug overdose of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, sold to her by Kauffman," Mooresville Police Department said at the time.