Alexandria woman charged with dealing a drug that caused death

Feb. 21—ANDERSON — An Alexandria woman has been arrested on a charge of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death.

Amber Short, 39, was arrested Monday by Alexandria police in connection with the November 2022 death of Cody Spaulding.

The charge, if Short is convicted, carries a possible prison sentence of 20 to 40 years.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Officer Jeremy Rasmussen, Spaulding was found unconscious on the bathroom floor of the house he shared with his mother in the 100 block of East Monroe Street.

His mother told investigators that Spaulding made a telephone call to an unknown woman to purchase drugs.

Spaulding met with the woman at the residence and told his mother he thought the drugs were fake, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Sometime during the night Spaulding's mother found him in a kneeling position in the bathroom but could not rouse him. After returning to bed, his mother found him several hours later in the same position and called for help.

Rasmussen took into his possession Spaulding's cellphone and found a Facebook Messenger threat to Short.

In the social media messages, Short and Spaulding agree on a price and the amount of "Roxies" that were being purchased.

After her arrest, Short said she knew Spaulding, had "no intention of harming" him and didn't know for several months that he'd died.

Short acknowledged to Assistant Chief Brian Holtzleiter that she knew "Roxies" could contain fentanyl.

Roxies is a slang name for Roxicodone, a brand name for the prescription opioid oxycodone.

During the interview, Short said the pills looked real and that she would never give anyone something that was fake.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.