The Drug Enforcement Administration has arrested a man in connection to rapper Mac Miller’s death last September. Cameron James Pettit was taken into custody on September 4. He allegedly sold counterfeit pharmaceutical narcotics that contained fentanyl to Mac, 26, just two days before he passed.
According to the affidavit, Pettit and others distributed the drugs to Mac, whose real name was Malcolm McCormick, before he suffered a fatal overdose on September 7, 2018. The medical examiner later determined Mac died from mixed drug toxicity involving fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol.
According to the affidavit, Pettit agreed to supply Mac with oxycodone pills as well as cocaine and Xanax. But when he made the delivery on September 5, he allegedly sold the rapper counterfeit pills that contained fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin.
Mac died two days after the transaction. After news of his passing broke, Pettit allegedly texted one of his friends, “Most likely I will die in jail.”
Investigators believe Mac died after snorting the pills containing fentanyl that Pettit gave him.
“Fentanyl disguised as a genuine pharmaceutical is a killer – which is being proven every day in America,” United States Attorney Nick Hanna said. “Drugs laced with cheap and potent fentanyl are increasingly common, and we owe it to the victims and their families to aggressively target the drug dealers that cause these overdose deaths.”
If convicted on the drug trafficking charge he faces, Pettit would face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Mac died just weeks after releasing his fifth album, Swimming, which was a critical and commercial success. He was posthumously nominated for the Grammy for Best Rap Album.
The Pittsburgh native struggled with substance abuse for some time. Ex-girlfriend Ariana Grande said it was a reason why they broke up in May 2018, after almost two years together.
