Former Rice University football player Stuart Mouchantaf was arrested this week for allegedly causing the death of his former teammate.
Mouchantaf, 25, was charged with delivery of a controlled substance in the death of his former teammate, junior defensive lineman Blain Padgett. Padgett, who was discovered dead in his apartment in March, was just 21 years old. (RELATED: LSU BASKETBALL PLAYER SHOT AND KILLED. SUSPECT STILL ON THE RUN [VIDEO])
Mouchantaf reportedly gave Padgett a pill he thought was hydrocodone but was actually laced with the synthetic opioid carfentanil. Carfentanil is normally used by veterinarians and can be 100 times more powerful than hydrocodone, Ottawa Public Health claims. It’s commonly used as an elephant tranquilizer.
Giving an unwitting recipient the substance is considered a second-degree felony and can carry anywhere from a 2-to-20-year prison sentence.
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“Buyers need to understand that when they buy these pills on the streets instead of pharmacies, they are literally playing Russian Roulette,” Assistant District Attorney Paul Fortenberry said after the medical report was released in June. “These pills look like the real deal, but they, in fact, are far more dangerous than even cocaine or heroin and are far less expensive.”
This is a developing story.