Raleigh man gave his friend a fentanyl-laced pill. Now, he’ll serve prison time.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jerimiah Hargrove accepted an Alford plea and received 50 to 72 months.
- Serguei Ndinga Momo died June 27, 2023 of acute fentanyl poisoning.
- Hargrove will receive psychological, substance abuse, educational and vocational training.
What started as a night of partying in 2023 ended with a prison sentence Tuesday for the man accused of selling the pills that killed his friend in a Carrboro home.
Jerimiah Hargrove, 22, of Raleigh, was scheduled to have his death by distribution case heard by an Orange County jury this week, but he chose Tuesday to accept an Alford plea instead.
That means Hargrove did not legally admit responsibility for the June 27, 2023, death of 21-year-old Serguei “Dolys” Ndinga Momo, but that he thought a jury would have found him guilty.
Superior Court Judge Stephanie Reese sentenced Hargrove to four to six years in prison, and also ordered him to get psychological and substance abuse treatment. He will also get educational and vocational training and be eligible for work release.
A second charge of selling a Schedule II controlled substance was dismissed Monday, court records show.
Reese warned Hargrove to take advantage of the programs available to him and to avoid alcohol and other substances in the future. Defense attorney Patrick Morgan told the court that Hargrove attended Johnston County Community College and worked several jobs before successfully completing most of a 12-month vocational training program in 2024.
Hargrove was kicked out of the Hope Center program after a relapse, but could return in the future, he said.
What led to Ndinga Momo’s death
Hargrove, Ndinga Momo, Hargrove’s girlfriend and another man were drinking together at the victim’s house in Carrboro after midnight on June 27 when Hargrove got out some “Perc 30s” — a pressed pill that included the prescription painkiller Percocet and fentanyl, Orange County Assistant District Attorney Anna Orr said.
Hargrove had been selling the pills, his girlfriend told Carrboro police later, after they broke up. That night, the group crushed some of the pills and snorted the lines of powder to get high, Orr said.
Ndinga Momo was not a regular drug user, but he asked Hargrove for more, and paid Hargrove for them via CashApp after arguing with him about the cost, she said. A short time later, Ndinga Momo started going in and out of consciousness.
While his friends were worried about him, Ndinga Momo told them he was OK, and they didn’t realize he was overdosing, Orr said. They woke up around noon to find him “cold to the touch,” she said, and called 911. They also unsuccessfully performed CPR.
Carrboro police initially thought it was a medical emergency, but learned from the autopsy results in 2024 that Ndinga Momo died from acute fentanyl poisoning, she said. Hargrove’s former girlfriend contacted them later with more information, because she felt guilty about what had happened, Orr said.
Mom shares family’s grief, memories
Ndinga Momo, or “Dolys,” as his family called him, was born in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, and later moved with his father and stepfamily to Honduras, according to his obituary. He also attended the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, where he “excelled in both American football and soccer,” it said.
In 2021, Ndinga Momo moved to Chapel Hill, where he played recreational soccer with the Orange County Adult Soccer League. He loved the World Cup, cheering for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, the obituary noted.
His death still strains the family, causing mental anguish for her and his father even as they wear a brave face, Ndinga Momo’s stepmother, Strother Murray-Ndinga, told the court Tuesday.
Ndinga Momo had lived on his own for about six months when he died — just six days after turning 21, Murray-Ndinga said. This year, his birthday fell on Father’s Day, compounding the grief for his father, Sergueï Bracy Ndinga Momo. He blames himself and has shouldered even more blame from family and Ndinga Momo’s birth mother, who live in Africa and hold him responsible, she said.
Sergueï Bracy Ndinga Momo wept in his court seat as his wife described the toll on their children. One sister still feels guilty for never baking Ndinga Momo a birthday cake, while another still texts his number for advice or to share updates, she said. Their son “suffers in silence,” and has been unable to focus on school and control his impulses.
They knew Ndinga Momo was drinking, but he had passed employment drug tests and was working as a food service worker at UNC Hospitals, she said. He “loved soccer more than anything else,” and the family shared that love, she said. It’s not the same now that he can’t scrimmage with his little brother and show him what his father taught him, she added.
“Dolys had a huge heart and a million-watt smile,” she said. “He really struggled to adjust here in North Carolina, and he wanted to fit in. English was not his first language, he had not completed high school, and compared to Americans his age, he was sheltered and not what you would call street smart, but he desperately wanted to be perceived that way.”
Don’t let your son’s death define his life or your family’s life, Reese told Ndinga Momo’s father.
“He was more than that one moment. He was more than that to you and to your family,” Reese said. “Don’t let Dolys become just that moment. Don’t let that be who he is in your mind and your heart. … You have it in you to do that, because you love your kids and you love your family.”
What did the judge, defendant say?
Reese also urged Hargrove to keep his daughter’s future in mind and to accept the hard truth of what happened.
Don’t be the man who makes money from selling poison to other people, she said, referring to Hargrove’s arrest after Ndinga Momo’s death for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance in Johnston County.
“The only way you’re going to be a father who actually cares about their kids is if you accept that hard, very real truth,” Reese said. “But for you existing on that day and handing something with fentanyl to another human being for money, that person would be alive."
There’s nothing that can change what happened, Hargrove said, but he thanked Murray-Ndinga for her words.
“I want to formally apologize to you both and your family for your loss. I wish there was more I could have done,” Hargrove said. “Dolys was a friend. Like the judge was saying, he was way more than what happened that night to him.”
