Law&Crime Sidebar - 3 Deadly Details of Model's 'Pink Cocaine' Fueled Double Killing Revealed by Cops

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Starting point is 00:00:35 will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. The Instagram model who caused a chain reaction crash in Miami, allegedly while high on pink cocaine, is now facing new upgraded charges as more deep details come out about her dangerous decisions. We're discussing all the latest developments in the case against Macy Lathers with former prosecutor Melba Pearson. Welcome to Sidebar presented by Law and Crime. I'm Sierra Gillespie. Now we first told you about Macy Marie Lathers here on Sidebar earlier this month when she appeared in bond court in a green

Starting point is 00:01:25 jail vest looking much different from her usual social media posts. The 24-year-old is a self-proclaimed artist and model and now faces 12 charges in connection with a three-car crash that put her in the hospital and killed two people. According to police, Lathers had been speeding in downtown Miami when she ran a red light in her Mercedes Benz. She slammed into a range rover, which then hit a Suzuki, and two people in that vehicle, the driver and the passenger in the backseat were both killed. Hilt. Lathers originally faced eight counts when she first appeared in court where it was revealed that not only did she not have a driver's license, but she'd been banned from having one.

Starting point is 00:02:12 After the crash, there's video surveillance of her, exiting the vehicle and walking northbound away from the crash, never rendering aid or calling 911 to assist those who were injured in the crash. Unknown bystanders grabbed a defendant and took her back to the scene of the crash and helped her until the police arrived. So basically the cars all were landed in different locations. And when the police arrived, they saw that she was under the influence. I guess they, police were assisting her. They asked her question. She advised she was under the influence of 2C, a known party drug, and that she was from the future and had a crystal ball. And she was placed in a recovery position until fire rescue arrived because she was vomiting and so victim one had to be extracted from the vehicle three

Starting point is 00:03:05 and was transported to the hospital right or trauma and in critical condition and was later dispronounced deceased due to his injuries victim two was removed from vehicle three and transported to jackson with facial and arm lacerations vehicle victim three was pronounced deceased on the scene by the fire rescue. Victim 4 was transported to J.M.H. It was in stable condition. So there's two people that died and two that were injured. She, the vehicle was registered to her,

Starting point is 00:03:46 but she doesn't have a Florida's driver's license. And a further search revealed that under her, her date of birth and name, she has a Florida driver's license, and it was suspended indefinitely January 16th of 2024. So that's what this piece is about. According to witnesses and police on the scene, Lathers told authorities that she was high on a party drug called pink cocaine, and that she was a time traveler, if you'll believe that. Pink cocaine is also called juicy. It's kind of become more popular in Miami over the last few years. And according to, to an NYU Medical School report that was published just last year, it's usually a combination

Starting point is 00:04:29 of a lot of different things, from ketamine, ecstasy, cocaine, meth, opioids, and other psychoactives. Researchers say it's pink in color, really just for looks. Hey, listen up, I have something you're not going to want to miss. Today, Upside is sponsoring Long Crimes YouTube Takeover, and here's what you get out of it. Free cash. Seriously, you just download the app. and the money can get transferred straight into your bank account. I've started using it on things like filling up my gas, which normally I'm not super passionate

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Starting point is 00:05:42 so she was driving around 80 miles an hour, and the speed limit on that road was 30. Her upgraded charges now include reckless vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury. When she appeared in bond court on those charges, this time she was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. Her attorney told the court via Zoom that he wasn't told about this hearing until the very last minute. Now she's facing the additional charges of vehicular homicide. And depending on the toxicology results, she may also face additional charges of DUI Mans. I don't know what, you know, why we're here without the state providing me notice that this

Starting point is 00:06:25 is going to take place. This is, this is an ambush, Your Honor. A judge had previously set Lathers's bond at $140,000, which Lathers had posted. She was reportedly preparing to be released when the prosecution filed additional charges. $26,000 was added to the previous bail amount, plus stricter rules for Lathers' house arrest. She was released just this week. There's a lot to unpack in this case. So let's get right to it with Melba Pearson, a former prosecutor right there in Florida. Melva, thank you for coming on today. Thank you so much for having me. Super excited to dive into this because there's some interesting aspects here. And one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you specifically is you're in Miami.

Starting point is 00:07:12 So what's the vibe down there about this story? I think most people are kind of like, What the fill in the blank, right? Because it was just, it's such a bizarre story and, you know, we're no stranger, sadly, to people using drugs and strange things happening because the reality is Miami is, you know, like certain cities across the world, it's a party hub, right? So we are no stranger to people drinking too much, partying too much, and things going awry. but pink cocaine most of us had never heard of that we only remembered like kind of Pablo eskabar like cocaine was white so now obviously they're calling it as a nickname pink cocaine it's really ketamine with other additives that make it pink but you know we had the epidemic of bath salts at one point you know maybe about 10 years ago where we had someone who was under the

Starting point is 00:08:12 influence and engaged in some very cannibalistic acts, right? So this is not abnormal for Miami, but I just think the series of events and the fact that, you know, two people were horribly victimized as a result of this. This was in a major street. So this was North Miami Avenue, which crosses through some major cities and areas within the metro Miami area. So the location made it scary in terms of more people. people could have been hurt. That's sort of the thought process I seem to be hearing on socials

Starting point is 00:08:47 and just kind of colloquially around the community. The pink cocaine is part of it that's really making headlines. And I want to talk about that for a second. I first heard about this in the Lil Rod filing against P. Diddy, the civil suit that we've talked about so many times here on Sidebar. And that's when we first heard about the pink cocaine. And now we're hearing about it again. I know Diddy has a house in Miami. And you said, sometimes drugs have their trends. Is this something that you're seeing a lot in Miami then? I can't say that I'm seeing a lot per se, but it seems to be more like that designer drug, right? Like it's not something that you would necessarily go to your, you know, for lack of a better word, going to your dealer on the corner and

Starting point is 00:09:33 getting, right? This seems to be more of a party drug akin to what, ecstasy and MDMA was to the early 2000s in the late 90s. Like, this is the kind of the trendy drug that's used at parties, used in certain circles. And, you know, again, I mean, it does have serious effects. Not that I've ever taken it. Not that I could recognize it. But because ketamine, the base is ketamine. And ketamine is literally horse tranquilizer.

Starting point is 00:10:01 So you can only imagine the types of after effects that people accept. experience while on this drug and it makes it more logical in terms of the strange statement she made to law enforcement, the way she was behaving. It's all very consistent with some of the strange effects that you would see with ketamine plus additives, which basically would be the pink cocaine. But here's the hard part for the defendant because so often we cover stories where the person is drunk or high. And we've learned pretty quickly that's not a defense. Just because you were drinking and driving or you were drinking and you were on some sort of drug, that's not really a defense.

Starting point is 00:10:42 You can't just claim that. So what sort of defense could she even have in this case? I mean, I think her defense would, you know, could be, again, did not see all of the statements that were available, but it might be possible that she may claim involuntary intoxication. So in other words, she was quote unquote roofied. Somebody put it in her drink. She didn't know something along those lines. but based on my understanding of the way it's ingested, that's not likely, right?

Starting point is 00:11:12 So it's because it's not something that comes in a liquid that can easily be, you know, hidden and then put in someone's drink and you wouldn't know. Like, you have to make a conscious effort to take it. So I don't think the involuntary intoxication defense would work here. I only think she could basically claim, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I didn't mean to act in this matter. out of character for me. I'm willing to go to rehab. I'm willing to pay restitution. I'm willing to

Starting point is 00:11:43 do anything you tell me to do, basically, because I'm in the wrong here. I think kind of a Mia Kulpa approach is going to be the best here, because there's not a lot that you can really defend. You've got, you know, witnesses on site. You've got the police officers in their testimony. You know, I'm sure there's going to be some sort of medical evidence in terms of testing. to be able to establish that she was under the influence or whether it must have been probably a blood test that was able to identify that that's what was in her system at the time of crime. So there's going to be an overwhelming amount of evidence showing that she was under the influence of an illicit drug and that she caused harm as a result. So I don't see much of a defense here. This is basically how

Starting point is 00:12:32 quickly can I take a plea. And what adds to that, too, is the fact that she didn't have a license at the time she was driving. And then we later found out she was banned from having a license. They said, you can't even have one. So I know we talked about her defense. Maybe I'm sorry, taking a plea deal. In this case, it seems to me that she knew between right and wrong. She knows she doesn't have a license and she got behind the wheel. I mean, what do you make of that? well you know I'm always of two minds when it comes to people not having a license in Florida I mean there's some reasons that are income driven let's put it that way why some people don't have a license so for instance if you end up getting maybe you get into an

Starting point is 00:13:17 accident or maybe you got too many tickets and it piled up you didn't pay them on time the interest compounded and now out of a lack of financial resources you can't pay your tickets which then results in your license being suspended, that's a little different than someone, let's say, getting a previous DUI and then being banned from driving as a result because that's just a whole different. That's not a need-based type situation. And then also on top of it, Florida, especially Miami,

Starting point is 00:13:47 is very difficult from the standpoint that we don't have any real public transportation down here. So if you're trying to get to work, trying to get your kid to school, or there's an emergency, and you need to get to the hospital, something along those lines. If you don't have a license, you know, I can see scenarios where you hop behind the wheel of a car because you don't have any, you don't feel you have any other choice.

Starting point is 00:14:12 Not saying it's justified, but whatever, but I can see how someone gets into that position. But being in a situation where you're out partying and you're driving to the party, using drugs, and then trying to drive away from the party, yeah, that that's not one that's going to be sympathetic to, to any jury or, you know, basically any, any court in this state. I know we talked about this potentially ending in a plea deal, but let's say that it does go to a jury trial. You spoke about how a jury would feel about all this. And we know that she crashed her Mercedes Ben, so kind of a high-end vehicle. And she's also an Instagram model. So she's kind of living the quintessential Miami life. And we did talk about this. It's kind of

Starting point is 00:14:56 a party area. I've been there before. It does seem like. like that. But if you're collecting a jury from the entire area, are they, I mean, these are people who live there. They don't come there for a weekend to party. They're ones who actually live their day and day out. What do you think a jury would think about all that? Oh, a jury would hate it. They would hate her behavior. They would, you know, if I was the prosecutor in the case, absolutely. I'd be bringing in her Instagram post from that particular day, right? Because that is relevant to her state of mind and the events leading up to the horrible, you know, tragic outcome that we saw at, you know, at the end of the analysis. So when people start to see the Instagram

Starting point is 00:15:37 page, the, you know, posing and very like, I'm in Miami, I'm living my best life to the detriment of others, to the detriment of residence, I don't see any jury coming back with a not guilty verdict because again, especially the residents are often tired of this type of behavior, you know, not that there's anything wrong with partying and all of that, but when it spills over to the point that people get hurt, when it starts to interfere with people's quality of life, you have many residents who have negative stories in terms of, you know, Memorial Day weekends, spring break or, you know, other high impact holidays, whether it be the Ultra Music Fest or, you know, any of these kind of events that bring a large,

Starting point is 00:16:21 amounts of people, while, yes, everyone loves the tax advantage and bringing in more influx of money into the city and the state, at the same token, when you have people that end up going too far and harming others, I can't say that Miami residents are going to turn their head away and say, oh, it's just a young kid having fun, especially to this level of injury and just sheer carnage, basically. Obviously, you know a lot about Miami being right there. I mean, you can kind of give us a sense of what the neighborhoods would be like or what a jury would be like, but you also have this major background as a prosecutor right there. So as far as the prosecution side of things, what do you think they're going to bring forward with the case? I mean, I think at the end of the

Starting point is 00:17:09 day, it's about the scientific evidence that shows that she was under the influence. So blood tests, the evidence from the testimony from the officers who pulled her over and how she was acting, including the strange statements she made, her demeanor, you know, where her eyes glassy, all of the different indicators that shows that she was under the influence. And then, of course, you know, the accident reconstruction, all of those aspects. And, you know, the injury that was levied on the two victims and all of that bedical testimony in terms of what happened to the two victims. So all of that's going to come into play as well. And then if there's any surveillance, if there's any, you know, so for instance, if the party was at, you know, one of the hotels,

Starting point is 00:17:59 let's say, on Brickle, right? Brickle is a very trendy area and there's often a lot of parties and all of that. Well, likely those high-end buildings will have security cameras in the lobby and that sort of thing. I'd be seeking to bring in that evidence to show the condition she was when she came in, the condition she was when she left, and that clearly she knew she wasn't fit to drive. So it's basically like proving a DUI case on the most basic level, but then you layer in all of the other crimes on top of it. We've kind of hypothesized what's going to happen that this would end in a plea deal rather than going to some sort of jury trial. What do you think those negotiations would look like between both sides and what could she end up with as a sentence?

Starting point is 00:18:44 So I think the negotiations from the defense perspective, they're going to want to ensure she doesn't serve jail time. Depending on what her criminal history is, which I don't have that information available at this juncture, I don't recall anything being said publicly about it. If she doesn't have a criminal history, there is a possibility that she may get a year or two, maybe a year in jail or two, you know, two years in prison, something along those lines followed by probation. If her defense is able to really make an argument around maybe she's struggling with addiction, she has checked herself into rehab. I mean, if I was her defense attorney, she'd be in rehab right now. Problem or no problem? She's in rehab right now. Because

Starting point is 00:19:26 in that way, you can go back to the judge and argue, listen, my client went and on her own initiative went to rehab, try to address some of the issues that brought her to this point. She's in counseling. She's not likely to reoffend. So those are the types of arguments the defense is going to probably try and make and maybe try to negotiate something where she may be on house arrest for maybe a year or so followed by probation with the conditions of her continuing therapy, continuing rehab, that sort of thing. But I don't see that the prosecution is necessarily going to be leaning towards that lenient of a sentence. So I think that's where the rub is going to be in terms of the negotiation process. Definitely want to follow and see

Starting point is 00:20:13 what happens as far as any potential negotiations. But any way you spin it, this is a devastating case. But thank you again, Melba, for coming on and kind of giving us some insight about it. My pleasure. Thank you so much. Lathers is expected back in court for her arraignment after the Labor Day holiday. And a memorial was held. for the victims who died in the crash. Abraham Ismael and his friend, Jesus Rubio. Abraham's partner, Juanita Hernandez, was the passenger in the Suzuki. She was injured, but she survived. She started to go fund me to cover funeral expenses, and she wrote on the page, quote, on August 10th, 2024, my beloved partner, Abraham Isamel and I were on our way to work when our car was struck

Starting point is 00:20:56 by a reckless driver who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The impact was was devastating. My partner and another passenger lost their lives, while I was left hospitalized and deeply shaken. Abraham's 16-year-old son has been left without the love and care of his father, who is his entire world. I am now unable to work due to my injuries, and the boy's life has been turned upside down. His mother, who lives in Nicaragua, suffers from Parkinson's disease, and is now not only grieving, but also left without the financial support her son provided. We are humbly asking for you to help during this difficult time to cover funeral expenses so that Abraham can have a dignified farewell surrounded by his loved ones. If you're interested

Starting point is 00:21:42 in donating, we've actually put a link to that fundraising page below this video. That's all today for Sidebar, but make sure you subscribe to us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. I'm Sierra Gillespie and this has been Sidebar presented by Law and Crime. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

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Law&Crime Sidebar - 3 Deadly Details of Model's 'Pink Cocaine' Fueled Double Killing Revealed by Cops

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