Mooresville Police Make Arrest In Fentanyl Overdose Death

MOORESVILLE, NC — A Mooresville man has been arrested and charged in the overdose death of a 23-year-old woman found dead in a vehicle parked in a lot on Brawley School Road in December.

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.

Alexandria Leigh 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.

SEE ALSO: Autopsy Underway For Woman Found Dead In Mooresville Parking Lot

“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 in a statement Thursday.

Kauffman has also been charged with numerous offenses including possession with intent to sell a Schedule II controlled substance, as well as one count of selling, one count of possessing with intent to sell near a school and possessing drug paraphernalia.

“We want our citizens to know we are holding the drug dealers accountable for their role in drug related deaths,” Deputy Chief Gerald Childress said in a statement “Their actions will not go unpunished.”

Photos via Shutterstock