Former NBA star and reality TV personality Lamar Odom used cocaine and sexual performance enhancing supplements on the weekend prior to his hospitalization, the Nye County Sheriff said Wednesday.
During a press conference, Sheriff Sharon A. Wehrly said that two employees at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada, called 911 and reported that Odom had been using cocaine on Saturday, but it was not known whether the usage continued throughout the weekend.
The sheriff also said that employees of the ranch reported that Odom had taken “up to 10” tablets of herbal sexual enhancement supplements.
Odom was transported by ambulance to a hospital in Pahrump, Nevada, and later taken to Sunrise Hospital in nearby Las Vegas. Attempts to airlift the 6’10” forward failed because of his height, officials said, and he was transferred to Las Vegas by ambulance.
During the conference, Wehrly said that a search warrant had been granted for Odom’s blood. The warrant was served at the hospital, with a blood sample taken and booked into evidence. Las Vegas police will be testing Odom’s blood to determine if he overdosed on drugs or alcohol.
Reporters were also played 911 calls made by a female brothel employee and Richard Hunter, the media director for brothel owner Dennis Hof.
In her phone call to 911, the female employee said that Odom had “blood coming out of his nose” and “white stuff coming out [of] his mouth,” adding, “he’s almost not breathing.”
“He’s over on his side, snoring, but breathing regularly,” Hunter told the dispatcher. “He’s in a deep sleep, for sure.”
Addressing questions from the media, Wehrly said that authorities won’t know if Odom possibly suffered an overdose “until we get the toxicology back,” and couldn’t say whether there would be a search warrant served on the brothel.
She did, however, say that it’s “distinctly possible” that Odom could be charged with possession at some point down the line.
Odom, a former Los Angeles Laker and U.S. Olympian who rose to reality TV fame after marrying Khloe Kardashian, was initially transported to Desert View Hospital in Pahrump, Nevada, before being transferred to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas.
His ex-wife Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, have arrived in Las Vegas to be at his side.