LA man charged with selling fentanyl to rapper Mac Miller before his death

A Los Angeles man who prosecutors say sold counterfeit oxycodone laced with fentanyl to rapper Mac Miller two days before his death from an accidental overdose was arrested on Wednesday on federal drug charges.

Cameron James Pettit, 28, was accused in US District Court in Los Angeles of delivering the pills to Miller, the former boyfriend of pop star Ariana Grande, early on the morning of September 5, 2018.

The 26-year-old musician and producer, whose real name was Malcolm James McCormick, was found unresponsive in his home in the Studio City neighbourhood of Los Angeles on the morning of September 7 and pronounced dead at the scene.

Following an autopsy, the Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Miller had died of an accidental overdose of cocaine and fentanyl. Investigators believe Pettit likely supplied him with the pills that caused his death, according to the charging documents.

“We’ve seen too many tragic deaths,” Assistant US Attorney Matthew Jacobs said at an afternoon news conference. “People should know that if they consume black market opioid pills they are playing Russian roulette. It could be a genuine pill or it could be laced with something that will leave them dead on the spot.”

Pettit, who was arrested on Wednesday on a single count of drug trafficking, was expected to make an initial court appearance later in the day. It was not immediately clear if he had retained a lawyer.