What is Ezequiel David Pereyra charged with? The hotel worker accused of selling drugs to Liam Payne surrenders to the police

The 21-year-old hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereyra, accused of selling drugs to Liam Payne before the former One Direction member's fatal fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, has surrendered to the police after weeks of being on the run.

Following the charges, Pereyra fled and later surrendered in an abandoned building. The police were unable to locate Pereyra when they arrived at his home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires to place him in pretrial custody after an arrest warrant was issued for him for failing to comply with a 24-hour deadline to surrender himself.

According to La Nacion, a local Argentinian newspaper:

"After Friday's operation, a place where police believed he was working and other residential addresses were put under surveillance, and because of the pressure, he did the right thing with help from his lawyer."

After eluding the police since late December, the 21-year-old hotel worker turned himself in on 6 January 2025 with the help of his lawyer. Pereyra is charged with supplying drugs to the pop singer twice, on 15 October at 3:25 A.M. and on October 16, only hours before Liam Payne fell from the balcony, for which Judge Laura Bruniard had issued an arrest warrant.

According to the CCTV evidence and witnesses, Pereyra is said to have received $100 from Liam Payne in return for drugs. The 31-year-old singer was staying at the Casa Sur hotel when he fell from the third-floor balcony and was discovered dead. The toxicology reports revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine, and prescription antidepressants in his bloodstream.

Four others charged in connection to Liam Payne's death

Along with Pereyra, four others have also been charged in connection to Payne's death. Braian Nahuel Paiz, a waiter at a restaurant that Payne had visited with his girlfriend, also faces a prison sentence of 4-15 years. Payne's close friend, Roger Nores, along with hotel employees Esteban Grassi and Gilda Martín, are charged with manslaughter for alleged negligence and failing to protect Payne's safety.

Paiz, 24, was taken into pre-trial custody at his residence in Berazategui, near Buenos Aires. His attorney claims that the accusations are unfounded and the result of a witch hunt. Paiz denies selling drugs to Payne while he admits taking them together, while the other three haven't been arrested, but they are being prosecuted.

Payne's close friend and Argentine businessman Roger Nores is charged with failing to meet his duty of care and putting the singer in danger even though he was aware of it. After he was charged, he spoke to TMZ about a documentary examining the life and death of Liam Payne.

He said:

"I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened. There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left."

He also mentioned that

"I could have never imagined something like this would happen. I've given my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven't spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since. I wasn't Liam's manager. He was just my very dear friend."

Martin, the hotel's head of security, and Grassi, the chief receptionist, are accused of escorting Payne to his room while intoxicated rather than seeking medical attention for him. If convicted, the three could be sentenced to one to five years in prison.

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Fans continue to mourn Liam Payne's death as the investigation continues to further reveal what happened to Payne before this untimely death.

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