Tag: Overdose

Brandon Clarke Died From Drug Overdose, Officials Confirm

August 8, 2026 ·

WOODLAND HILLS—Former Memphis Grizzlies forward and Gonzaga basketball star Brandon Clarke, 29, passed away in Woodland Hills on May 11, 2026. On Friday, August 7, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office announced the cause of his death from an accidental overdose caused by the combined toxic effects of heroin and cocaine.

Officials noted he was on multiple prescription medications, which is believed to have significantly contributed to his death. Clarke was found unresponsive in his bedroom around 5 p.m. and was declared dead at the scene by paramedics 15 minutes later at a home he was renting at 20322 Del Campo Place. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom house in an upscale neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. The property has since been relisted on Zillow and is currently available for rent.

Clarke dealt with significant physical pain and rehabilitation from basketball injuries during the final years of his career, including an Achilles tear, a knee injury, and a calf strain. That ongoing pain came into focus after police bodycam footage surfaced from his arrest on April 1 in Arkansas. He was pulled over and found in possession of kratom, an herbal substance marketed as a pain remedy, along with the pain medication Toradol.

The state of Arkansas has classified kratom as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, and possession of any quantity is considered a Class C felony. Clarke was released on bond a day after his arrest.

Over his seven NBA seasons, Clarke averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in roughly 20.8 minutes per game. He earned NBA Summer League First Team and NBA Summer League MVP honors in 2019, along with an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection in 2020.

Clarke is survived by his mother Whitney Triplett, stepfather Bryan Triplett, and biological father Steve Clarke.

By Milan Manesh

David Pearce Sentenced To 146 Years To Life In Prison

October 30, 2025 ·

Photo courtesy of Emiliano Bar.

BEVERLY HILLS—On Wednesday, October 29, the Los Angeles County District’s Attorney’s Office announced that David Pearce, 43, was sentenced today to 146 years to life in state prison for seven sexual assaults and the fentanyl-induced murders of Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola and Christy Giles, whose bodies were left outside separate hospitals in November 2021. In addition, he was ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender.

Pearce was sentenced by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter in Department 109 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Officials reported that on February 4, a jury found David Brian Pearce guilty in case BA498423 of all charges and allegations: two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola; three counts of forcible rape; two counts of sexual penetration by use of force; one count of sodomy by use of force; and one count of rape of an unconscious woman in the sexual assaults of seven different victims.

In February 2025, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict against Pearce’s co-defendant Brant Osborn, 46, for two counts of accessory to murder after the fact. A new trial for Osborn is expected to take place with a scheduled pretrial on November 18 in Department 109 at the Foltz Criminal Courthouse.

On November 13, 2021, at approximately 3 a.m., Pearce and Osborn met victims Giles and Cabrales-Arzola at a warehouse party in East Los Angeles. About two hours later, Giles and Cabrales-Arzola accompanied Pearce and Osborn back to Pearce’s Beverly Hills apartment. While at the apartment, Pearce provided Giles and Cabrales-Arzola gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and fentanyl, causing Giles and Cabrales-Arzola to fatally overdose.

Within about 35 minutes of arriving at the apartment, Cabrales-Arzola called a rideshare service to leave the location, but neither Cabrales-Arzola nor Giles left the residence until Pearce carried Giles out of the apartment about 11 hours later and carried Cabrales-Arzola out about an hour and a half afterwards.

Pearce dropped the victims off at two different local hospitals. Giles was dead when she was dropped off at the hospital. Cabrales-Arzola was resuscitated and died 11 days later, one day short of her 27th birthday.

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Pearce committed numerous drug-facilitated sexual assaults against multiple women spanning from 2005 to 2021. All seven victims testified at trial to Pearce’s sexual depravity and violent tendencies.