One of the drug dealers charged in connection to the fatal fentanyl overdose of rapper Mac Miller has been sentenced on Monday to nearly 11 years in prison.
Ryan Michael Reavis, 38, of Lake Havasu City, Arizona was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright at a California federal court to 10 years and 11 month months in prison, according to April 18 court documents (pdf).
Miller, a rapper whose real name is Malcolm McCormick, died in September 2018 at age 26 following an accidental overdose. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said at the time they found “mixed drug toxicity” in Miller’s system that included cocaine, fentanyl, and alcohol.
Reavis admitted during his guilty plea that he was aware he sold pills to Miller that contained controlled substances, including fentanyl. His attorneys had argued their client only deserved five years because he just acted as a middleman for the drug sale. Federal prosecutors had sought 12 years and seven months for Reavis.
Reavis is one of three men accused of distributing fentanyl-laced pills that led to Miller’s fatal overdose. He is the first man who has already received his sentence.
Stephen Andrew Walter, 49, of Westwood and Cameron James Pettit, 30, of West Hollywood also recently pled guilty in the case.
A grand jury indictment alleged that Walter supplied the fentanyl and cocaine that Pettit sold to Miller and that Reavis acted as a middleman for the drug sale. Pettit sold Miller cocaine, Xanax, and 10 blue pills that appeared to be oxycodone, but also contained fentanyl, according to the indictment.
Miller’s assistant found him unresponsive on his bed in a “praying position” and was kneeling forward with his face on his knees. He was already “blue” when someone called 911. Officials pronounced him dead at the scene.
Karen Meyers, Miller’s mother, said her son would have never knowingly taken a pill with fentanyl and insisted the alleged drug suppliers were solely responsible for his death, TMZ reported.
“He wanted to live and was excited about the future. The hole in my heart will always be there,” she said.
Miller had been open about his struggle with substance abuse. In a 12-minute documentary, the artist talked about his addiction, saying it started long before his music career. He admitted that he had used promethazine and cocaine.
Fentanyl is a highly addictive opioid that has contributed to an epidemic in the United States. The powerful synthetic opioid similar to morphine, but 50 to 100 times more potent, has claimed thousands of American lives.