Cameron James Pettit Sold Mac Miller Fentanyl-Laced Pills That Killed Him; Charged In His Death
He's been charged with Mac Miller's death.
Instagram A year after the death of rapper Mac Miller, a man has been arrested for selling him the pills that killed him. Miller died of an overdose of cocaine, alcohol and the deadly opiate fentanyl in September 2018. This week, Cameron James Pettit, who supplied the drugs to Miller, was arrested on one count of distributing a controlled substance. Authorities are cracking down hard on the distribution of fentanyl, which has been implicated in tens of thousands of drug deaths in recent years. The painkiller is so potent that even small amounts can kill a person. If convicted, Pettit could face up to 20 years in prison.
Who is Cameron James Pettit? Read on for all the details.
1. Rising rap star
Miller, who is from Pittsburgh, started playing piano, guitar, drums and bass by the age of six and aspired to be a singer. By the time he was 14, he had begun rapping and that was his prime focus after that. "Once I hit 15, I got real serious about it and it changed my life completely...I used to be into sports, play all the sports, go to all the high school parties," he told Complex in 2013. "But once I found out hip-hop is almost like a job, that's all I did." He released a number of albums in his career, including Blue Slide Park, Watching Movies with the Sound Off, GO:OD AM, The Divine Feminine, and his last album Swimming in 2018.
2. Relationship with Ariana Grande
Miller and Grande started dating in 2016, though People notes that they had known each other before then and had collaborated on the song "The Way." They went back into the studio together to record "My Favorite Part" and things got more romantic for them. At the time, Miller said: "I wrote that love song before I saw her. We’re very good friends first and foremost. We made that song and started becoming close again. It’s very dope and I like how that worked out.” He stood by her during the aftermath of the bombing at one of her shows in England in 2017 and was supportive when she was finally able to start recording new music again. When she dropped "No Tears Left To Cry," he tweeted "Very proud of this girl right here. Welcome back. We missed You. One of a kind.”
By May of 2018, the couple decided to part ways, citing schedule conflicts as the reason they couldn't make it work. Grande wrote well wishes to her ex in an Instagram story at the time, saying" "This is one of my best friends in the whole world and favorite people on the planet. I respect and adore him endlessly and am grateful to have him in my life in any form, at all times regardless of how our relationship changes or what the universe holds for each of us!” Miller confirmed that they were no hard feelings after the split. "I was in love with somebody. We were together for two years. We worked through good times, bad times, stress and everything else. And then it came to an end and we both moved on. And it’s that simple,” he said.
3. Substance abuse issues
Miller struggled with addiction for much of his career. In 2013, he admitted to Complex magazine that he had been hooked on a drug cocktail called lean that combined sedatives and codeine. “I love lean; it’s great,” Miller told the magazine. “I was not happy and I was on lean very heavy [during the Macadelic tour.] I was so f–ed up all the time it was bad. My friends couldn’t even look at me the same. I was lost.” In 2016, he released the YouTube documentary Stopped Making Excuses, where he admitted to starting with marijuana then seeking more intense drugs, saying "I needed to get a drug that was a little more numbing, if you will... I think that’s what really sparked me doing other drugs, because I hate being sober. I wanted a drug to do.” Miller admitted to using drugs in part because of depression. Drugs caused him legal problems along the way, with several busts for possession while he was on tour. By 2017, he told W magazine that he was sober, but in 2018, he was arrested for a DUI, right around the time he and Grande split up.
Miller in 2018
4. Death by overdose
On September 7, 2018, Miller was found unresponsive in his home in California and later pronounced dead at the scene. US Weekly reported that his family confirmed the tragedy with a statement, saying: "Malcolm McCormick known and adored by fans as Mac Miller, has tragically passed away at the age of 26. He was a bright light in this world for his family, friends, and fans. Thank you for your prayers.” TMZ was the first to report that the death was due to an overdose and the tests later confirmed that he had died of a lethal combination of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol.
5. Cameron James Pettit arrested
Almost exactly a year after Miller's death, Cameron James Pettit has been charged with supplying the pills that led to the overdose. Police found a number of different drugs connected to Miller's death, including counterfeit oxycodone that actually contained fentanyl, cocaine and Xanax, according to NBC news. He has been charged with one count of distributing a controlled substance, which carries a 20 year possible sentence upon conviction. The investigation revealed texts from Pettit, who realized that he had sold Miller the deadly pills. When discussing the rapper's death, he said: "I think I should probably not post anything...just to be smart." When another friend asked how he was doing in the aftermath he wrote "I am not great...Most likely I will die in jail."
6. Fentanyl sold illegally
Investigators believe that Miller snorted the substance and subsequently died. Fentanyl is a known killer and as little as a few micrograms of the drug can cause death. NBC reports that US Attorney Nick Hannah explained that Pettit was being charged as part of a nationwide crackdown on distributing fentanyl. "Fentanyl disguised as a genuine pharmaceutical is a killer," said Hanna, "which is being proven every day in America. 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." The CDC estimates that illicit fentanyl is a major contributor to the epidemic of opioid deaths, with over 28,000 people dying of such overdoses in 2017.
No court date has been announced for Pettit.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.