Man to plead guilty in Studio City drug death of rapper Mac Miller

By FRED SHUSTER | City News Service

LOS ANGELES — A Westwood antheral is expected to plead blameworthy adjacent week to providing counterfeit drugs containing fentanyl to Mac Miller anterior to the hip-hop performer’s overdose death.

Stephen Walter, 48, is 1 of 3 radical charged successful the decease of the rapper, who suffered a fatal overdose successful Studio City connected Sept. 7, 2018.

Walter is expected to plead blameworthy Monday via Zoom to a national complaint of organisation of fentanyl and hold to a situation condemnation of 17 years, according to his plea agreement.

Two co-defendants, Cameron James Pettit and Ryan Michael Reavis, are scheduled to spell to proceedings successful March.

Prosecutors allege that Walter, Reavis and Pettit distributed narcotics to 26-year-old Malcolm James McCormick — who recorded and performed nether the sanction Mac Miller — 2 days earlier the performer overdosed.

The indictment alleges that Pettit ordered the fentanyl-laced pills from Walter, and Reavis delivered the narcotics to Pettit, who sold the drugs to Miller.

Reavis, 38, of Lake Havasu, Arizona, and Pettit, 30, of West Hollywood, antecedently pleaded not blameworthy successful Los Angeles national court.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office successful Los Angeles declined comment.

According to communications elaborate successful tribunal papers, precocious connected the nighttime of Sept. 4, 2018, Pettit agreed to proviso Miller with 30-milligram oxycodone pills, arsenic good arsenic cocaine and the sedative Xanax. But alternatively of providing the rapper with genuine oxycodone erstwhile helium made the delivery, Pettit allegedly sold Miller counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl — a almighty synthetic opioid 50 times much potent than heroin.

Two days aft Pettit allegedly supplied Miller with the fentanyl-laced pills, the rapper died astatine his home. An affidavit alleges that hours aft quality outlets reported Miller’s death, Pettit sent a connection to a person saying, “Most apt I volition dice successful jail.”

Investigators judge that Miller died aft snorting the counterfeit oxycodone pills that had been provided by Pettit, according to the affidavit. While different idiosyncratic allegedly supplied Miller with different drugs anterior to his death, according to the affidavit, those pills did not incorporate fentanyl.

Weeks aft Miller’s death, Walter agreed to merchantability Pettit 10 “blues” — a thoroughfare sanction for the painkiller Percocet, according to the indictment, which besides alleges different cause deals betwixt the 2 men, 1 arsenic precocious arsenic 2 months ago.

Miller began rapping astatine 14 and built a ample pursuing earlier signing with the statement of chap Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa. Miller released 5 workplace albums and a bid of mixtapes during his career. His last album, “Swimming,” was released connected Warner Records conscionable a period earlier his death.