A bartender accused of supplying Liam Payne with drugs before his death has been arrested, Argentine media reported.
Brian Baez, 24, was one of them Five people have been charged over the pop star’s death On Monday, he was ordered to appear in court.
the The 31-year-old pop star He died after him He fell from the third floor balcony At the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on October 16 last year.
The Argentine prosecutor’s office said Monday that Baez and hotel employee Ezequiel Pereira were charged with supplying drugs on two occasions, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 15 years.
Various Argentine media reported that Baez was arrested at his home in Ingeniero Badge on Friday.
Reports also claim that police raided the home of Pereira, 21, but did not find him there.
Roger Norris, described as Payne’s “actor”, hotel manager Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Gracie, were charged with negligent homicide – an offense similar to manslaughter in UK law which carries a prison sentence of between one and five years.
Payne and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy. Pic: Instagram/Kate Cassidy
A statement from the judge and prosecutor detailing the final moments before Payne’s death said he had been “soliciting” drugs and alcohol while staying at the hotel.
On Oct. 16, Payne was in the hotel lobby and “unable to stand” due to “consuming various substances,” the court document said.
She added that the receptionist and two others “dragged” the singer to his room, and the manager allowed this to happen “at least by omission.”
Given Payne’s “altered” consciousness and the access to the balcony from the room, “the right thing to do would be to leave him in a safe place and in company until a doctor arrives,” according to the judge.
They also accused Payne’s representative, Norris, of leaving Payne alone at the hotel in a “state of weakness,” despite knowing of Payne’s prior addiction problems and the fact that Norris “could not trust that the rest of the hotel staff would behave appropriately.” “.
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Payne, right, and One Direction in 2013. Pic: PA
The judge described Payne’s death as “foreseeable.”
The District Attorney’s Office had previously ruled out self-harm as a factor in the case one direction The death of the star, and he said that he did not take a reflexive position to protect himself from falling, which means that it can be inferred that he may have fallen “into a state of semi- or total unconsciousness.”
The document released on Monday repeated the hypothesis that Payne “tried to leave the room via the balcony and therefore fell.”
Toxicology test results revealed that before his death, Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine and an antidepressant in his system.
According to the autopsy, Payne died from “multiple” injuries and internal and external bleeding.