Source: Sun Sentinel / Getty
One of the men responsible for providing the substance that led to the death of Mac Miller has received a hefty sentence for his involvement.
According to authorities, Stephen Walter was given a sentence of 210 months – 17.5 years – in federal prison. Walter, 49, admitted to directing co-defendant Ryan Reavis to distribute the pills of oxycodone that were laced with fentanyl to co-defendant Cameron Pettit. Pettit would then sell them to Miller, who would die of a fatal overdose of fentanyl, alcohol, and cocaine. The charges normally have a 20-year mandatory minimum prison term, but Walter entered into a plea agreement last October which garnered him a 17-year sentence. Reavis previously pled guilty to drug distribution and received a sentence of more than ten years. Pettit’s case is still pending.
The court documents detailing the hearing on Monday (May 16th) did note that U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright, II struck down Walter’s original plea deal claiming that it was “too lenient” in light of the discovery that Walter did continue to sell the pills known as “blues” in addition to cocaine right up until his arrest in 2019. That led to Walter having an extra six months added to his sentence along with five years of supervised release.
Walter addressed the rapper’s family, who were present in the courtroom for the sentencing. “My actions caused a lot of pain, and for that I’m truly remorseful. I’m not that type of person who wants to hurt anybody. That’s not me,” he said. His lawyer later released a statement saying that Walter would not appeal the decision. Judge Wright said that his ruling had nothing to do with the “celebrity” of Mac Miller and the public nature of the case. “This was a human being who unwittingly took something that will flat out kill you, and I have no idea why we have people out here dealing in this stuff, peddling this stuff,” Judge Wright said. “This is what upsets me. Everybody now knows this stuff will kill you.”
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