Following prosecutors' reading of Miller's mother's statement the same sad and tragic statement she submitted as evidence for Reavis' sentencing in April – Judge Wright allowed Walter to address the court. The former dog groomer, who pleaded guilty to a single charge of fentanyl distribution in exchange for dropping a more serious charge of fentanyl distribution resulting in death, apologized to Miller's family but claimed he didn't know the musician, born Malcolm McCormick, died from something he supplied until he was arrested.
“I don’t know whether or not it was after you knew because no one can prove what you knew and when you knew it, but it was certainly after the event,” Walter stated when appearing in court in Los Angeles on Monday Judge Wright interjected. Walter later stated that he only told Reavis to give the pills to a third drug dealer charged in the case, Cameron Pettit, because he thought Pettit wanted the tablets for himself. “I dealt with Cameron Pettit, and he led me to believe that he would ingest the pills that I sold him. He never told me anything about McCormick. He didn’t tell me he was going to deliver those pills to another person,” Walter also said.
“I’m still taking responsibility for everything that happened, but he never told me it was for another person,” Walter continued. “He was experienced in using those pills. I thought it was for him for personal use. And then he delivered them to McCormick with cocaine and Xanax, or whatever. I was not willing to do that and had no intent to do anything else other than [sell to] Cameron Pettit. And then two days later, when there was an overdose, Cameron never called me and told me about it, that he had anything to do with him. So I had no idea that somebody had passed. If I would have known, I would not have continued that type of behavior.”
Before handing down his ultimate sentence of 17.5 years in jail and five years of supervised release, Judge Wright stated that his decision had nothing to do with McCormick's "fame." “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. This is what upsets me. Everybody now knows this stuff will kill you. I need to be quiet because I’m talking myself into something stratospheric,” According to Judge Wright.
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Investigators previously stated that they suspect McCormick died as a result of snorting the fake medicines. “My life went dark the moment [McCormick] left his world. [He] was my person, more than a son. We had a bond and kinship that was deep and special and irreplaceable. We spoke nearly every day about everything – his life, plans, music, dreams,” Karen Meyers, the rap star's mother, stated in a statement given to the court on Monday after it was initially released during Reavis' sentencing. “His laughter was infectious and bright. My love for him was unparalleled, and I felt the same from him,” she wrote. “He would never knowingly take a pill with fentanyl, ever. He wanted to live and was excited about the future. The hole in my heart will always be there.”