Stephen Walter, one of the men found guilty of contributing to rapper Mac Miller’s death, was sentenced to 17 and a half years in federal prison today, according to Rolling Stone. The ruling was a last-minute surprise when U.S. Judge Otis D. Wright, II rejected a plea agreement that Walter previously struck with prosecutors. Under the plea agreement the court would have dropped a second charge, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, which would have likely led to a significantly lighter sentence.
However, after prosecutors made it clear that Walter continued to sell cocaine and “blues” up until his arrest in 2019, Judge Wright struck down the deal which would have gone outside of sentencing guidelines.
“The court has elected not to accept that plea agreement. So, sir, if you want, at this point, you can withdraw your guilty plea and go to trial,” the judge said. “I may as well lay it out, okay. When you continue to engage in this activity even after your activities killed someone, I’m having a tough time not staying within the guidelines.” Given this information, Walter and his attorneys accepted the sentence and opted not to go to trial. However, Walter refused to take responsibility for all of his actions.
“My actions caused a lot of pain, and for that I’m truly remorseful,” said Walter. “I’m not the type of person who wants to hurt anybody. That’s not me. But on the paperwork where it says that I continued to conduct in that kind of behavior after I knew that there was death, that’s not the truth your honor.”
Fellow dealer Ryan Reavis was sentenced to almost 11 years in prison last month.
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