Athens man charged with murder after woman died from an overdose

LIMESTONE CO., Ala. (WAFF) - The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office has charged an Athens man with the death of a woman after she overdosed in July 2023.

According to officials, deputies responded to an overdose at a home on Quinn Road on July 26. When they arrived, they found an unresponsive woman in the living room, the home belonged to 46-year-old Gary Amerson.

Amerson told deputies that he administered Narcan to the woman, ate a bowl of cereal and called 911, 20 minutes after he had noticed that she was unresponsive.

During an investigation, investigators discovered that Amerson had waited over an hour to call 911.

A search warrant was executed on Amerson’s home and probable cause was found to arrest Amerson for drug trafficking (meth), possession of a pistol by a violent felon, two counts of possession of a controlled substance (Buprenorphine Hydrochloride Pills and Fentanyl), felony possession of drug paraphernalia, distribution of a controlled substance and felony murder for the death of the victim.

Amerson was booked into the Limestone County Detention Facility where he is being held on a $110,000 bond. His Aniah’s Law hearing will be held at a later date.

“While we are saddened by this tragic loss of another life to drugs, I’m proud of the response to this crime by my Deputies and Investigators. During this investigation, we learned that this alleged offender was bringing 3 to 4 pounds of meth and up to 32 grams of Fentanyl into our community each week. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, 32 grams of Fentanyl could kill up to 16,000 people. His drug operation is now over. We will continue aggressively seeking and prosecuting these offenders to the fullest extent of the law.” ~Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin

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