Lorain man gets 4 years for woman’s overdose death

A Lorain man was sentenced to four years in prison Sept. 28 on a pair of cases, including one that left a woman dead.

Michael A. Hargrove, 40, previously pleaded guilty to an amended indictment on reckless homicide in one case, and failure to comply and driving under suspension

in the other case.

Elyria police Capt. Christopher Costantino said the reckless murder charge stems from a Jan. 9, 2017, incident.

Costantino said Hargrove dropped off 43-yearold Ronda St. Clair of Lorain at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center and fled the area.

She was in critical condition after suffering an overdose on 3-methylfentanyl; an extremely powerful opiate, he said.

About 20 minutes later, doctors pronounced her dead, Costantino said.

When detectives found Hargrove, he admitted he had consumed drugs with St. Clair in a Lorain house, Costantino said.

St. Clair asked to go to the hospital, but Hargrove felt he was too high to call an ambulance, the captain said.

“If an ambulance had been called immediately, the end result could have been different,” Costantino said. “But there was such a delay in transporting her to a hospital that, unfortunately, by the time she got to the hospital, lifesaving measures were ineffective.”

Hargrove