Falls, NY: Falls man indicted on drug, other charges after death of girlfriend

by Steve Wiandt

Cuyahoga Falls -- A trial will begin July 22 for a Falls man who was indicted after his girlfriend was found unresponsive in their apartment and her 2-year-old son was found in a closet.

His girlfriend, 27, was pronounced dead less than an hour later and her son was placed in the care of the county.

Albert M. Hazlett Jr., 31, was indicted by a Summit County grand jury last month on corrupting another with drugs, a first-degree felony; illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a fourth-degree misdemeanor; endangering children, a first-degree misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a minor misdemeanor.

Hazlett, whose bond is $250,000, 10 percent, remains in Summit County Jail.

Annette L. Powers, Hazlett's attorney, did not return a call for comment at press time.

Hazlett is scheduled to go to trial July 22 in Summit County Common Pleas Court before Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer. His final pre-trial is July 7.

Police were called at 9:15 p.m. March 29 to a Winter Parkway apartment where Hazlett reported finding his 27-year-old live-in girlfriend unresponsive. The woman was transported to Summa Western Reserve Hospital, the report said, where she was pronounced dead at 9:52 p.m.

The cause of death is still pending, according to Gary Guenther, chief investigator for the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office.

While inside the apartment, officers heard what sounded like a baby crying. They found a 2-year-old boy, the deceased woman's son, in a crib inside a closet. The boy was hot and sweaty, police said, and after he was examined by paramedics, he was taken to Summit County Children Services.

Police said they believe the couple had been smoking marijuana while the boy was left inside the closet. Officers reported finding marijuana in plain view in the living room. Hazlett was arrested that night.

The indictment, which was filed May 12, states in reference to the corrupting another with drugs charge, that Hazlett is accused of administering, furnishing, inducing or causing his live-in girlfriend to use heroin and thereby caused her serious physical harm. This was committed in the vicinity of a school, the indictment adds.

E-mail: swiandt@recordpub.com

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