Lamar Odom was in possession of cocaine the day he arrived at the Nevada brothel where he would later collapse into unconsciousness in an apparent drug-related relapse, according to a frantic 911 call released by the Nye County Sheriff’s department Wednesday.
Investigators played a series of heavily garbled phone calls between police dispatch and employees of the Love Ranch South in Crystal, Nevada during a press conference Wednesday afternoon in Pahrump, Nevada, where local authorities are probing the circumstances that led to Odom’s hospitalization Tuesday.
“He apparently had some cocaine on him that he finished--this was on Saturday,” Love Ranch media director Richard Hunter is heard saying in the 911 call.
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The tape recording also captured Hunter’s reaction when he turned the unconscious Odom on his side per dispatcher’s instructions and described seeing “white stuff coming out of his nose.”
Odom was said to have been partying at the Dennis Hof-owned brothel for four days, with witnesses reporting that he’d consumed cognac and a large quantity of herbal Viagra-type supplements before two women discovered him face down and unresponsive.
On the 911 tape, Hunter describes the sexual supplements found on Odom’s person and says he had taken 10 pills in the span of three days. A previous call placed before Hunter spoke with 911 dispatch was made by a brothel manager identified as Mitzi John, who called at least twice urgently requesting an ambulance for Odom, who was in a rear apartment on the brothel grounds.
The former NBA star is still comatose and on life support in a Las Vegas hospital where he’s been visited by friends and family including ex-wife Khloé Kardashian, Kobe Bryant, and Rev. Jesse Jackson.
An investigation by the Nye County Sheriff’s department is continuing. Detectives obtained a warrant late Tuesday to test a sample of Odom’s blood for illegal substances. If found in his system, Odom could face criminal charges.
Sheriff Sharon Wehrly revealed that it took over three hours after the initial 911 call to get Odom to the Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, where he is undergoing medical treatment. First treated at the brothel by responding paramedics, the ailing Odom was taken to Desert View Hospital 20 miles away in Pahrump, Nevada. Arrangements were made to transport Odom by air to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, but the 6’10” basketball star was deemed too large to fit in the assigned helicopter.
An ambulance instead departed at 5:32 p.m., heading for Las Vegas. It was 6:24 pm by the time Odom arrived at Sunrise Hospital.
Unidentified witnesses told TMZ that doctors at the Sunrise Hospital found cocaine and opiates in Odom’s system, and that he had visible track marks on his arm. The athlete and reality TV star, whose public struggle with substance abuse included a brief 2013 stint in rehab, also reportedly had fluid in his lungs indicative of crack cocaine use.
Odom has been hospitalized since yesterday, when two prostitutes at the Love Ranch South found him unconscious following a solo weekend brothel bender. Jackson visited Odom on Wednesday, telling reporters that the outlook was promising.
“Apparently from what the doctor said, he was much better off today than yesterday. He at least has some responsiveness now,” Jackson said. “He’s got tubes in him now but we felt inspired by his presence. We’re just holding hands and hoping he can bounce back.”
But sources inside the hospital paint a much direr picture to TMZ, saying that Odom suffered multiple strokes and is battling the failure of several organs, drastically diminishing his chances of recovery.
The Nye County Sheriff's department is investigating the incident as a potential overdose.
According to Hof, Odom had called Saturday looking for fun and relaxation. Hof, who owns several Nevada brothels including the Moonlite Bunny Ranch featured in HBO’s Cathouse, had a car sent to pick up the two-time NBA champ. “Lamar arrived Saturday night,” he told ET. “We picked him up at his place in Las Vegas. Brought him out here. Great mood. Ready to have a good time. He just wanted a little peace and quiet and get away from the pressures of his life.”
Hof says Odom’s mood was darkened on Sunday by a phone call that upset him, allegedly related to the new episode of E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians that aired that day. In it, Odom’s ex-wife Khloé Kardashian receives phone calls from Odom, including one in which he tells her that his close friend Jamie Sangouthai has died—the same buddy who shared in several of Odom’s drug-fueled escapades, including the infamous drugged-out rap video. Also in the episode, Kardashian leaves a club after hearing that Odom has arrived.
“But after that he regrouped, and he was eating good,” Hof told ET. “Sleeping good and just having a good time.”
In addition to the cocaine and opiates allegedly found in his system, Odom had been drinking cognac and taking herbal sex supplements in such large quantities, even Hof was surprised. “We heard, from my people, like eight or 10 pills,” Hof said, adding, “I’ve seen guys take one pill and have a real good time so it sounds like a lot to me.”
Odom spent all of Monday alone by request.
ccording to the Nye County Sheriff’s department, Richard Hunter, the media director for Dennis Hof’s Bunny Ranch brothel, called 911 around 3:15 p.m. to request an ambulance for an “unresponsive male” at the Hof-owned Love Ranch South located 20 miles north of Pahrump, Nevada. Emergency personnel arrived at 3:34 p.m. An investigation was conducted on site by local authorities.
Odom, 35, was then taken to Desert View Hospital in Pahrump, where he arrived at 4:16 p.m. and was reportedly intubated by doctors because he could not breathe on his own. He is reportedly in a coma and in critical condition, according to TMZ, and ex-wife Khloé Kardashian is at his side.
He was to be airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital but the 6'10" athlete was too big for the helicopter transport, according to a statement from the Nye County Sheriff’s office, and was instead transported via ambulance to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas.
Odom had been partying alone at the Crystal, Nevada brothel since Saturday, Hof told BuzzFeed, adding that it appeared that Odom had taken an excessive amount of “herbal Viagra” before two prostitutes, Madison and Ryder Cherry, discovered him unconscious. E! News is reporting that the hospital is treating the situation like an overdose, as Odom was reportedly found to have “virtually every drug imaginable” in his system, including crack cocaine, and may have suffered a stroke. He is on life support and fighting for his life.
According to TMZ, a manager called 911, then rolled Odom over onto his side, noticing “mucus-type liquid coming out of his nose and mouth” before paramedics arrived. “I was told he was not looking good,” Hof said. “[Odom] said he was just trying to get away from people so he could have some time to himself without the pressures of being who he is,” the brothel owner added to Us Weekly.
Odom, a free agent, hasn’t hit the court in a professional capacity since his brief February 2014 stint in Spanish league basketball. He had most recently been signed to the New York Knicks for their 2013-2014 season but the team waived the forward last summer, citing his inability “to uphold the standards to return as an NBA player.”
The Queens, New York, native has been waging a public battle with substance abuse since his 2013 off-season arrest for driving under the influence, to which he pleaded no contest. He sought treatment for drug and alcohol abuse but only lasted one day in rehab.
In November of that year, Odom seemingly hit rock bottom when he appeared in a leaked home video slurring shirtless, rapping, and apparently under the influence of drugs. His four-year marriage to Khloé Kardashian, alongside whom he’d appeared on the reality series Keeping Up With the Kardashians and the couple’s own spinoff, Khloé and Lamar, ended in December 2013 when Kardashian filed for divorce.
This summer, Odom was photographed in Nevada sporting “noticeable weight gain” while mourning the drug-related deaths of two friends who passed away in separate incidents in June.
Tuesday’s alarming news “isn’t shocking, but it is sad,” E! News was told by a “Kardashian family source.” And reports say that Odom’s former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant abruptly left his game in nearby Las Vegas to visit his pal.
Odom hadn’t been answering his phone all day, his father Joe Odom told Hollywood Life, insisting that Odom must have been victimized by an unknown party. “Somebody drugged my son. There’s no way he’s down there partying crazy like that. No way… If Khloé knows anything about this, please, tell her to call me. We all love Lamar and want him to pull through this.”
Representatives for Odom and Kardashian could not be reached for comment.
