Andrew Gillum, a former Democratic candidate for Florida governor, was involved in a suspected crystal meth incident at a Miami Beach hotel on Friday morning.
Miami Beach Fire Rescue were called to the hotel room by an associate of Gillum’s who found the former Tallahassee mayor and another man in the room in an intoxicated condition.
Aldo Mejias, 56, told police that he gave his credit card to Travis Dyson, 30, to rent a hotel room for the trio for the night. When he arrived at the hotel, he observed Gillum vomiting in the bathroom and the other man vomiting and having trouble breathing, at which point he began performing CPR and called the police.
Fire rescue crews treated the second man for a suspected overdose, and he was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Gillum was not arrested and was too intoxicated to communicate when authorities arrived but was found to be in stable condition when authorities returned for a checkup later.
Authorities confiscated three small clear plastic baggies lying in plain sight on the bed and floor that contained suspected crystal meth.
“Clear plastic baggies containing suspected crystal meth on both the bed and floor of the hotel room. The three small baggies of suspected narcotics were impounded at the Miami Beach police station property and evidence unit for destruction,” the report read.
The former Tallahassee mayor, who in 2018 narrowly lost Florida’s gubernatorial race, apologized in a statement, denying he had used crystal meth.
“I was in Miami last night for a wedding celebration when first responders were called to assist one of my friends. While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines. I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused our movement,” Gillum said.
“I’m thankful to the incredible Miami Beach EMS team for their efforts. I will spend the next few weeks with my family and appreciate privacy during this time,” he added.
An internet search for Dyson’s name yielded a profile belonging to a male escort in Miami who goes by the same name.
“I personally was not celebrating a wedding. I don’t know if [Gillum] was in town for a wedding. He did not mention that,” Dyson told the Miami New Times.
“We’ve been friends for a while,” Dyson added before going silent on the phone.