MUNCIE, Ind. – A Muncie man told police he left the body of an acquaintance – who was either dying, or had already died, from a drug overdose – along a southside street because he didn’t want to upset his mother.

The body of Dustin Richard Rhodes, 29, of rural Muncie, was found shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday along South Penn Street, just north of 18th Street.

Authorities allege Matthew Ryan Shackelfurd, 32, was with Rhodes when he suffered an overdose early Saturday after ingesting fentanyl-laced heroin in the parking lot of an apartment building in the 2000 block of West Godman Avenue.

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Another man was recruited to help transfer the unconscious Rhodes to Shackelfurd’s home, in the 2400 block of South Penn Street.

From there, Shackelfurd told police, he dragged the body “two houses down and across the street from his own residence so his mother wouldn’t find out about the overdose.”

Shackelfurd “was concerned his mother would kick him out because he had overdosed two weeks ago himself," an officer wrote.

The man who helped move Rhodes from the Godman address said Shackelfurd “wouldn’t call for help because he didn’t want police at his house.”

That man later made the call to 911 that led to discovery of the body after Shackelfurd told him where he had left Rhodes’ remains, according to an affidavit.

Shackelford and the Muncie woman accused of selling him the heroin he provided to Rhodes – Rachelle Lee Tucker, 29, of the Godman address – were arrested early Sunday on charges of reckless homicide and dealing in a narcotic drug.

Shackelfurd was also charged with obstruction of justice and false informing. He remained in the Delaware County jail on Monday under a bond of $17,500.

Tucker faces additional charges of possession of a narcotic drug and maintaining a common nuisance. She was released from the Delaware County jail on Sunday after posting a $25,000 bond.

According to arrest affidavits:

Authorities were directed to Shackelfurd’s home Saturday by neighbors who said a heroin abuser lived there.

Shackelfurd said he “recently had been dealing heroin for Rachelle Tucker.”

Shackelfurd was with Tucker late Friday when Rhodes called him and said he needed to “score heroin.”

Tucker said she and Shackelfurd a day earlier had gone to the Dayton, Ohio, area to buy heroin to sell in Muncie. Police found 2.5 grams of the drug in Tucker’s apartment.

After ingesting the heroin, Tucker said, Rhodes “couldn’t stand on his own, speak with any meaning, and was having agonal breathing.”

Tucker claimed she urged Shackelfurd to take Rhodes to the hospital. Shackelfurd, meanwhile, said Tucker “became upset and wanted Dustin removed from her apartment’s parking lot.”

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. Follow him on Twitter: @DouglasWalkerSP.