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Man Pleads Guilty For His Role In Rapper Mac Miller’s Fatal Drug Overdose
Stephen Walter was named as part of the supply chain that provided fentanyl-laced pills to the late hip-hop artist.
A man has pleaded guilty to his role in rapper Mac Miller’s fatal drug overdose in 2018.
On Monday, Stephen Walter, 46, pleaded guilty to distributing the dangerous drug fentanyl, according to People. Prosecutors say Walter supplied the drugs to another distributor, who in turn provided the pills to hip-hop artist Mac Miller’s drug dealer.
Mac Miller, whose real name was Malcolm James McCormick, died on Sept. 7, 2018. The Los Angeles County medical examiner determined the 26-year-old died from a lethal mix of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol.
According to a plea agreement obtained by People, on Sept. 4, 2018, Walter “knowingly and intentionally directed Ryan Michael Reavis to distribute fentanyl in the form of counterfeit oxycodone pills, to Cameron James Petit.”
Walter, Reavis, and Petit were all charged with conspiring to distribute controlled substances resulting in death and distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The three men face up to 20 years in federal prison, with Walter facing an additional 10 years for possession of ammunition.
According to the indictment, Miller requested 10 oxycodone pills, cocaine, and Xanax from Cameron Petit three days before his death. Petit ordered “counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl” from Walter. Reavis was the alleged middleman between Petit and Walter.
In the days and weeks leading to Miller’s fatal overdose, authorities established past drug transactions between Walter and Petit.
Prosecutors stated Miller “would not have died from an overdose but for the fentanyl contained in the pills that M.M. had received from Petit on Sept. 4, 2018,” according to People.
U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna accused Walter, Petit, and Reavis of selling the drugs after Miller’s death, despite knowing its danger.
“It has become increasingly common for us to see drug dealers peddling counterfeit pharmaceuticals made with fentanyl. As a consequence, fentanyl is now the number one cause of overdose deaths in the United States,” said Hanna. “These defendants allegedly continued to sell narcotics after Mr. McCormick’s death with full knowledge of the risks their products posed to human life.”
Both Petit and Reavis have pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to Pitchfork. A trial is scheduled for March 1, 2022.
Special Agent in Charge William D. Bodner of the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division responded to the original charges, as quoted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Counterfeit pharmaceutical pills are especially dangerous because users are unable to verify what they are ingesting,” said Bodner. “The tragic death of Mac Miller is a high-profile example of the tragedy that is occurring on the streets of America every day.”
