Suspect Arrested In Prescription Drug Ring Linked To Corey Haim
The state attorney general's office announced Wednesday that it has arrested a suspect in an alleged prescription drug ring that Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said provided illegal drugs to actor Corey Haim.
Haim was found unresponsive last week at his mother's apartment. He later died at a hospital in what Los Angeles Police Department officials said appeared to be an accidental overdose. Then on Friday, Brown said his office was investigating a "massive" drug ring that provided prescriptions for Haim.
Spokeswoman Christine Gasparac would not identify the suspect, saying the case was ongoing. "I can confirm there has been an arrest, but I have no other details."
She added that investigation began well before Haim's death and that the suspect might not directly have provided the drugs that caused the 1980s teen actor's death.
Brown said an unauthorized prescription under Haim’s name was found during an ongoing investigation of fraudulent prescription drug pads ordered from a San Diego vendor.
The drug ring operates by using stolen doctor identities to order prescription drug pads from authorized sellers. The prescription forms are then sold on the street to addicts or drug dealers who have them filled at pharmacies. Doctors whose names are used on the prescriptions are usually unaware that their identities have been stolen.
Detectives reportedly found prescription drugs at Haim’s home.
“Corey Haim’s death is yet another tragedy linked to the growing problem of prescription drug abuse,” Brown said Friday.
He said investigators so far have uncovered about 5,000 fraudulent prescriptions linked to the drug ring.
Arrest Made During Investigation Of Corey Haim's Death
A day after Canadian actor Corey Haim was laid to rest in Toronto, California's attorney general said an arrest had been made in connection with an "illegal and massive prescription-drug ring" linked to Haim's death.
California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, commonly known as Jerry, announced the arrest Wednesday, in an e-mail to Canwest News Service.
"We can confirm that an arrest was made during the course of our investigation, though we cannot provide further details at this time," his office said in a statement.
Haim, 38, died last week in Los Angeles with an enlarged heart and pulmonary congestion. He was buried in his hometown of Toronto on Tuesday.
Haim was recently suffering from flu-like symptoms, and police suspect the former teen idol, who has been struggling with drug addiction for years, may have had an overdose.
A coroner's report has yet to be released to determine if prescription drugs may have contributed to his death.
Brown said earlier an unauthorized prescription under the actor's name was found during an investigation of fraudulent prescription-drug pads.
The person arrested is not directly connected to Haim but is allegedly part of this drug ring, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office told CNN yesterday.
Pharmacy records reveal that in the past year, Haim received thousands of dangerous pills from dozens of doctors, Brown has said.
"How many people go to 10 or 15 or 20 doctors and then run around to 10, 12 and more pharmacies to go fulfil them and sometimes two different doctors in the same day?" Brown asked last week on HLN's Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell. Haim filled prescriptions for Vicodin, Valium and OxyContin, Brown said.
"If he took all the pills that our records show he was prescribed over the last year and three months, he took very damaging assaults on his body."
Haim became an instant heartthrob in the 1980s, rocketing to fame after his role in the cult classic The Lost Boys. He also starred in films such as License to Drive and Lucas, and more recently, The Two Coreys, a reality show about his lifelong friendship with frequent co-star Corey Feldman.
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Sources: Montreal Gazette, LA Times, AP, Youtube, Google Maps
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