Mac Miller overdose death: Man gets 17.5 years in prison for directing fentanyl distribution

A person has been sentenced to greater than 17 years in jail for guiding fentanyl-laced drugs to be given to rapper Mac Miller earlier than the star died of an overdose, officers introduced Monday.

Stephen Andrew Walter, 48 and of Westwood, pleaded responsible to 1 rely of distribution of fentanyl in November 2021, in line with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace.

The offense carries a 20-year obligatory minimal jail time period, however beneath a plea settlement, Walter will as a substitute serve a 17-year jail time period, in line with the sentencing memorandum.

Walter knew that the drugs contained fentanyl or another federally managed substance, the memorandum states.

He’s one in every of three folks charged within the overdose loss of life of Miller, a famed 26-year-old rapper whose actual title was Malcolm James McCormick.

Former West Los Angeles resident Ryan Michael Reavis was sentenced final month to almost 11 years in jail after additionally pleading responsible to distribution of fentanyl.

A case in opposition to 30-year-old Cameron Pettit of West Hollywood is pending.

Reavis knowingly distributed the counterfeit drugs to Pettit on Sept. 4, 2018, in line with the Division of Justice. Shortly after, on the course of co-defendant Walter, Pettit gave the fentanyl-laced drugs to the rapper.

Miller obtained the drugs about two days earlier than he suffered the deadly drug overdose on Sept. 7, 2018.

The star’s private assistant discovered him unresponsive in his Studio Metropolis house, and paramedics pronounced him useless on the scene.

The rapper died from an unintended overdose as a consequence of a mixture of alcohol and medicines, together with fentanyl, the L.A. County coroner’s report stated on the time.

Fentanyl is an artificial opioid that’s round 100 instances stronger than morphine and 50 instances stronger than heroin, in line with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Simply 2 milligrams could be deadly, relying on an individual’s physique measurement, tolerance and previous use. 

Artificial opioids like fentanyl are the first driver of overdose deaths within the nation, in line with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.