KANNAPOLIS — Just shy of one year ago, on April 20, 2024, Kannapolis police answered a call to find an unconscious man near Fir Avenue.

Medical personnel arrived and tried to revive the man, later identified as Rodney “Wayne Anthony of Locust, N.C., but were unable to save him. Anthony was declared deceased at the scene and medics thought his death was possibly the result of an overdose.

During a yearlong investigation into Anthony’s death, Kannapolis investigators determined that Anthony had purchased narcotics from Alex Ray Horne that ultimately led to Anthony’s death.

After consultation with the Cabarrus County District Attorney’s Office, police have charged Horne, 27, of East 13th Street, Kannapolis, with death by distribution/sale. He has been transported to the Cabarrus County Magistrate’s Office for processing.