UPDATE (2/7/2024): Kyle Rudman pleaded guilty to one count of dealing marijuana to a minor, a Level 5 felony. He was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.
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AVON, Ind. – The death of an Avon High School student earlier this month led to the arrest of another juvenile accused of selling him pills laced with fentanyl.
Police also arrested Kyle Rudman, who faces multiple charges related to dealing drugs as well as neglect of a dependent and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
On Wednesday, the Avon Police Department also confirmed a third suspect, Trevor Strickland, 23, was arrested in connection to the case. A Hendricks County Jail listing stated that Strickland is being held on various preliminary charges, including dealing resulting in death.
The Avon Police Department said officers arrested Strickland at an Indianapolis hotel. He was in possession of nearly 1,000 pills and more than $18,000 in cash, according to police. He also had additional narcotics and a loaded handgun.
Officers arrested the juvenile suspect on March 17. He was booked into the Hamilton County Juvenile Center on charges of dealing a controlled substance resulting in death, dealing a narcotic, possessing a narcotic drug with intent to sell and possession of marijuana.
The charges stemmed from an investigation into the March 15 death of an Avon High School student who was found unresponsive in his home. The teen had bought pills laced with fentanyl, according to the probable cause affidavit. Toxicology results are pending.
A friend told police the two had bought 10 pills from the juvenile suspect for $100 around 5 p.m. on March 14. They both tried about an eighth of a pill later that night and went their separate ways. The friend said he’d last spoken to the teen who died via Facetime around 8:40 p.m.
The next day, after being alerted by family members, police found the teen dead in his bedroom. Investigators discovered a bag of blue “M 30” pills made to look like the painkiller Percocet along with indications of drug use.
Avon Community School Corporation released a statement last week about the student’s death:
On Wednesday evening, Avon Police informed us an AHS student had died. We are deeply saddened by this loss. We made additional mental health professionals available to support our students and staff through the remainder of the week. The family is in our thoughts and prayers.
Detectives contacted the Avon School Corporation Police Department to get the address of the juvenile suspect.
Around 11 p.m. on March 15, police talked to the juvenile suspect and Rudman. The teen suspect told police he’d gotten “a bunch of pills” and distributed them to other people the day before. When asked if he knew there was fentanyl in the pills, the teen “shook his head yes and stated yes,” according to court documents. He sold about 10 pills for $100, he told police.
The suspect informed investigators that he had more of the pills in the house and took them to an upstairs closet, where police found a small black bag containing two pill bottles; one bottle had about 100 additional “M 30” blue pills while the other contained seven Xanax pills.
Detectives seized additional items from the home, including electronics and a digital scale. They also found small baggies filled with what appeared to be heroin and 11 boxes of THC vape cartridges, according to court documents.
The teen suspect told police he bought the pills from a “Snapchat guy” named “Trev” and paid for them using the Cash App. He’d bought the pills from his source for at least a month. He also said he was selling THC vape cartridges to “10-15 people at the Avon High School,” according to police.
Police searched the teen suspect’s phone, which contained numerous pictures and social media posts about drugs and selling them, according to court documents. They found a Cash App transaction for $100, which matched the amount of the March 14 pill sale. They also discovered messages from the suspect and “Trev,” his alleged pill supplier, in which the teen had discussed buying “thousands” of pills.
During the interactions, the teen also appeared to be attempting to sell guns or jewelry to the man, police said.
The phone contained numerous messages between the teen and Rudman in which they discussed drug activity, according to court documents. They talked about buying THC vape cartridges from a source in California and having them mailed to Indiana.
The teen also asked Rudman to obtain “shrooms” (psychedelic mushrooms) and “bars” (Xanax), although Rudman was initially reluctant to do so. According to court documents, Rudman agreed to obtain them as long as they could “double or triple their money” and the teen promised not to use them.
During a follow-up interview on March 16, Rudman said he’d discussed getting THC vape cartridges with the suspect to “make some quick money.” He told police he bought them from a person in California and that they were “selling these for a profit.”
Rudman also told police he had been using heroin, according to court documents.
The Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office formally charged Rudman on March 17. He had his initial hearing and is next due in court for a pretrial conference in May. The juvenile suspect is not being named.
