New details have emerged about the man who allegedly sold or gave Demi Lovato the drugs that led to her July overdose.
On Aug. 14, TMZ reported that the pop star texted her drug dealer to come over at about 4 a.m. on July 24 then joined him in using tin foil to freebase oxycodone possibly laced with fentanyl, which led to her overdose.
Now TMZ is reporting that Demi's alleged dealer, identified as Brandon Johnson, was known to police and was, law enforcement sources tell the site, busted with drugs, guns and cash in March — one month before sources claim Demi linked up with him and ended six years of sobriety.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that cops allegedly found "narcotics, a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun and $10K in his pocket" when they picked Brandon up in North Hollywood this spring. Upon searching his home, they found more drugs, more guns and ammunition. The district attorney has not charged him in this arrest — at least not yet, TMZ reports.
In June, Brandon was arrested again and charged with DUI as well as cocaine possession, TMZ reports.
Brandon has been telling friends that he and Demi have had a romantic relationship, a source connected to him tells TMZ, which was also told that Brandon has denied "dealing" Demi drugs. Other sources who spoke to TMZ dispute that there was ever a romantic facet to the relationship.
TMZ previously reported that the person Demi did drugs with the morning of her OD left the pop star's home after seeing her breathing heavily in bed. Someone on Demi's staff believed to be an assistant or a bodyguard found her unresponsive hours later around 11 a.m. — they'd checked on her because she hadn't come out of her room — and called 911. Multiple reports confirm that Narcan — a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose — was administered, likely saving her life.
Demi initially either refused or was unable to tell medical staff what drugs she'd been using, TMZ previously revealed. Paramedics reportedly did not find drugs at her home when they arrived.
She spent nearly two weeks at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center then headed straight to an out-of-state live-in rehab facility in early August.