A waiter who was charged last month in connection with the death of Liam Payne has been arrested in Argentina for allegedly selling the late singer cocaine.
Braian Nahuel Paiz was arrested on Friday, Jan. 3 at his home outside of Buenos Aires, four days after he was charged in Payne’s death by Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office, his lawyer Fernando Madeo Facente confirms to PEOPLE. He is facing between four and 15 years in prison.
Both he and Facente have maintained Paiz’s innocence, with Paiz telling local news outlet Telefe Noticias in November that while he and Payne did take drugs together, he did not supply the drugs, and never accepted money from the star.
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Liam Payne attends the British Vogue And Tiffany & Co. Celebrate Fashion And Film Party 2023 at Annabel’s on February 19, 2023 in London, England.
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Payne died on Oct. 16 at age 31 after falling from the third floor of his hotel room balcony at the CasaSur hotel.
Facente, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, called Paiz “innocent” during a Dec. 20 appearance on the Argentinian show El diario de Mariana.
“He’s consumed [drugs] for some time. He says it openly,” Facente said. “[Paiz and Payne] talked about a lot of topics. In fact… he is a life-long fan of One Direction. He had affection for Liam and respected him. He took advantage of the opportunity, of the encounter in the restaurant where he worked. They exchanged messages, had lengthy and fluid conversations, they talked about a lot of topics. At one point they did talk about having a personal encounter, of having a good time, having fun, having an intimate and private encounter.”
Paiz was among five people charged on Dec. 30 by Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office. In a press release, officials announced manslaughter charges against the CasaSur hotel manager and receptionist, as well as a friend of Payne’s. The BBC identified those charged as Gilda Martin, Esteban Grassi and Roger Nores, respectively.
The prosecutor’s office also announced that a hotel employee, identified as EDP, and a waiter, called BNP, were charged with supplying drugs. The BBC identified the men as Ezequiel Pereyra and Paiz.
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Liam Payne performs on stage during day one of Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Seat at London’s O2 Arena.
The release said Paiz is suspected of selling Payne cocaine twice on Oct. 14, two days before his death.
Nores was charged with manslaughter after allegedly “failing to fulfill his duties of care, assistance and help” toward Payne after he “abandoned him” knowing he suffered from “multiple addictions.” Martin is being charged with manslaughter for allegedly failing to prevent Payne from being taken to his hotel room just before his death.
Grassi, meanwhile, was charged with manslaughter for allegedly asking three people to “drag” Payne, who could not stand on his own, to his room, instead of keeping him safe, per the statement.
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Authorities previously said in a press release that Payne was “not fully conscious or was experiencing a state of noticeable decrease or loss of consciousness at the time of the fall.”
In the moments before his death and in the period of at least his last 72 hours, Payne had traces of “polydrug use of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his body,” the release from authorities in Argentina stated.
The singer was laid to rest on Nov. 20 at a funeral in the English countryside that was attended by girlfriend Kate Cassidy and former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan.
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