Man says he used drugs with woman who overdosed


By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Christian Carver said Wednesday he used his girlfriend’s money to buy the dose of heroin on which she suffered a fatal overdose.

But the 21-year-old Carver also admitted in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court he did not care where the money came from because he was going to use the drug, too.

“I wanted it as much as she did,” Carver said.

Carver, of Limaville, pleaded guilty to a charge of corrupting another with drugs and was sentenced to three years in prison by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum for supplying the heroin that led to the April 10, 2015, death of Billie Jean Lecorchick in Sebring.

Lecorchick was the mother of three of Carver’s children and had six children overall.

Assistant Prosecutor Ken Cardinal, who recommended the sentence for Carver, had a picture of all six kids in his case file.

“This is what you can leave behind when you take heroin,” Cardinal said when he looked at the picture.

Carver’s attorney, Jeffrey Jakmides, asked the judge to follow Cardinal’s sentencing recommendation. He said Carver has cooperated with police, telling them who he got the heroin from and that he knew the charge was pending yet he never ran. Carver was not indicted until June of this year.

Carver said he is very sorry for what happened. At one point almost breaking into tears, he said when asked by Judge Krichbaum that the money he used to buy the drugs was from his girlfriend, but he added he was using heroin regularly as well.

“I was an addict,” Carver said. “It was a miserable life.”

Judge Krichbaum called the case “an unbelievable tragedy” because it resulted in the death of Lecorchick, a prison sentence for Carver and the loss of a mother for Lecorchick’s children.

“What happened to her is tragic and what happened to you is tragic, too,” a subdued Judge Krichbaum said.

The plea agreement calls for Carver to serve all three years of the sentence and there is no chance at an early release.