Dealer pleads guilty to Mac Miller overdose death

Stephen Walter has pleaded guilty to one count of distributing fentanyl, the strong painkiller that led to rapper Mac Miller’s fatal overdose in 2018.

Walter accepted the plea deal and is now facing 17 years in prison, with an additional three years of supervised release, according to a CBS News report.

According to the plea deal, which was filed in Los Angeles, Walter was not the direct supplier of the fentanyl-laced pills, but “knew that the pills contained fentanyl or some other federally controlled substance.”

On September 4, 2018, Walter “knowingly and intentionally” instructed another man, Ryan Michael Reavis, to distribute the potent opiod in the form of “counterfeit oxycodone pills” to Miller’s dealer, Cameron James Pettit – allegedly the one who handed the drugs to Miller.

It was three days later that Miller died of a “mixed drug toxicity” combining fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol.

Walter, Reavis, and Pettit were all charged and arrested in connection to Miller’s death.

A judge must first accept Walter’s plea deal. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for November 8, while the trial for Reavis and Pettit is on November 16.

The rapper and music producer died at the age of 26 on September 7, 2018. He was found unresponsive at his home in Studio City, Los Angeles, and pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. His death was ruled an “accidental overdose.”

Miller’s death came several months after he ended a high-profile, two-year relationship with pop superstar Ariana Grande, who was often seen as the inspiration for his songs. He had been open in the past about his battle with drug addiction and his music often dealt with his depression and drug use. – Rappler.com