Elyria man charged with selling drugs that caused fatal overdose in March

An Elyria man with a long criminal history is charged with selling drugs to a fellow Elyria man who overdosed and died in March. Roderick B. Cross Jr., 33, of Fox Hill Lane, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court to 15 felony charges in an Aug. 14 indictment. The case is assigned to Judge Christopher Rothgery. The charges include involuntary manslaughter, trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, possession of a fentanyl-related compound, corrupting another with drugs, having weapons under disability trafficking in heroin and cocaine; possession of heroin and cocaine and possession of criminal tools, with many of the charges including specifications. A convicted felon who previously served prison time for two non-fatal shootings he committed as a teenager, Cross could receive additional prison time if convicted of possessing a firearm while selling drugs, according to his indictment. If Cross is convicted of a major drug offender specification attached to his charges, Rothgery would be required by law to impose the maximum sentence on the felony that specification is attached to. Cross has been held in the Lorain County Jail on $100,000 bond since April 4, according to jail records. Amessage seeking comment on the charges was left Friday for his attorney, Mike Kinlin. A pretrial hearing is Wednesday (Aug. 27). The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office said Cross sold the drugs that killed 23-year-old Joshua Kroboth on March 15. Fentanyl, heroin and cocaine were found in Kroboth's system after he died, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chris Pierre said. Pierre said the Elyria Police Department found blue pills and powdered drugs where Kroboth died, and testing by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation found substances including fentanyl and heroin in the pills. Elyria detectives used phone and Cash App records as well as surveillance video to figure out that Cross sold the fatal drugs to Kroboth the day he died, Pierre said. Cross also allegedly sold cocaine in the vicinity of a juvenile, according to his charges. A search warrant was then executed on the house where Cross allegedly was operating, and officers seized 164 grams of fentanyl and approximately 6 grams of cocaine, Pierre said. Cross surrendered April 3, according to the Elyria Police Department. A PMA-15 semiautomatic rifle, a Ruger firearm, four phones, a digital scale and $1,880 in cash were seized, according to police, prosecutors and court records. The items could be forfeited to the state if Cross is convicted. Criminal history Pierre said Cross is on community control in a 2024 criminal case, having been convicted of three felony drug trafficking charges and a felony drug possession charge in February. Cross also was convicted of robbery in 2018 and attempted murder, felonious assault and improper discharge of a firearm in 2010, all in Common Pleas Court according to court records. Chronicle-Telegram archives said Cross was only 15 when, on Nov. 10, 2007, he shot and wounded a 16-year-old boy in the back and leg at an Oberlin house party and shot at but missed another teen. It was later learned that was retaliation for Cross being beaten up at a 2005 Oberlin High School football game. Two attackers beat Cross so badly he suffered a collapsed lung. They were found delinquent of felonious assault and got probation, according to Chronicle archives. Cross was free on bond awaiting trial in the 2007 shooting when, on May 10, 2008, he drove by a house on East 29th Street in Lorain and fired a 9mm handgun, hitting a woman in the right leg by a bullet according to Chronicle archives. The two shootings were believed to be unrelated. The Prosecutor's Office charged Cross as an adult in both shootings, and he pleaded guilty. Judge James Miraldi sentenced him to eight years in prison in 2010. Also known as "Chubs," as a teen Cross was a reputed member of the Elyria gang called M.A. Zone, with a juvenile criminal record starting at age 8 that included multiple assaults on classmates, younger children and adult school employees as well as theft and receiving stolen property, according to Chronicle archives. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.