Presley Gerber avoided search at sober home because 'he was famous,' reports say

New reports about Presley Gerber’s final hours before his Sept. 20 death in a sober living home in Santa Monica, California, reveal that Cindy Crawford’s troubled son was able to check into the facility, even though he was known to be under the influence of drugs.

Even more, Gerber reportedly brought drugs into the home that he would use there, but he wasn’t searched, with the 27-year-old former model possibly getting special treatment because of his celebrity, according to reports.

“Presley wasn’t treated like an ordinary resident,” a source told entertainment and gossip reporter Rob Shuter. “He was famous, his parents were famous, and people were intimidated. Nobody wanted to be the person patting down Cindy Crawford’s son.”

Gerber’s famous family also includes his supermodel sister Kaia Gerber, and his businessman father, Rande Gerber.

On Tuesday, TMZ published a disturbing video — shot by Gerber himself — that showed him checking into the Revolutions Living facility at about 10 p.m. on Sept. 19. The onetime Calvin Klein model gave whoever was watching a solo tour of several areas of the home — a converted, $7.7 mansion — including the bedroom where he would be staying.

In the footage, Gerber appears to be alone and he appears to be high, according to TMZ.

The gossip and entertainment news site reported that Gerber, who has long been open about his addiction and mental health struggles, checked in the facility after he had been using drugs earlier that Saturday afternoon.

According to sources “with direct knowledge,” Gerber had a sober coach, who contacted Resolutions Living to say his client got high and became scared he was losing control, TMZ reported.

The sober coach said he needed a place for Gerber to stay until he could help him check into a rehab facility, possibly on Monday, TMZ reported.

At a rehab facility, Gerber could expect to receive intensive, structured mental health and medical care to treat his addiction, including any withdrawal symptoms. Meanwhile a sober home doesn’t offer medical treatment; it is designed for people who have finished rehab and who need a substance-free, supportive place to live while they work on maintaining their sobriety.

TMZ reported that Gerber’s sober coach confessed to an admissions officer at Resolutions Living that his client was still high. But the officer said the facility would still be glad to give him a bed even though he was under the influence, TMZ also said.

This would appear to be a violation of the “cardinal rule” of sober homes, according to multiple other rehab facilities contacted by TMZ. Among other things, this violation could put other residents at risk, as TMZ pointed out. Early in their recovery, other residents could be triggered by being in close proximity to someone who was under the influence.

But not only was Gerber high when he arrived at the sober home, he also brought drugs with him, presumably thinking that this would be “his last weekend to indulge before entered rehab,” TMZ also reported.

It’s not clear whether the sober home had a policy of searching incoming residents for contraband. Still, a source told Shuter: “The entire point of a sober house is structure, boundaries and rules.” In the case of Gerber, he “needed people willing to tell him no. Instead, everyone knew exactly whose son he was, and normal boundaries disappeared.”

“Fame should never change the rules when somebody’s life is at stake,” the source also said. “Presley didn’t need VIP treatment. He needed protection.”

The next morning at about 9:30 a.m, Santa Monica police received a call reporting a cardiac arrest and another call for an overdose at the home, the Los Angeles Times reported. Gerber was pronounced dead at the scene.

Santa Monica police have said there is no indication of foul play at this time but they are also investigating Gerber’s demise, looking into how he obtained the narcotics or prescriptions that led to his death, the Times reported.

TMZ reported that the admissions officer had been fired while the sober coach did not return calls asking for comment.

The Times reported that Resolutions Living consists of the seven-bedroom, sober living facility and a separate mental health treatment center down the street. Both are owned and operated by psychologist Reza Nabavi and his wife, clinical psychologist Maryam Akbar.

Prior to joining the treatment industry, Nabavi struggled with substance use issues himself, according to the Times.

Back in 2002, he was in Alameda County, where he was charged with felony drug possession after Oakland police found him asleep in a car with a gun, several baggies of methamphetamine and a .357-caliber handgun, the Times reported. He also was with a 15-year-old girl who told police she was under the influence of narcotics.

Nabavi pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of misdemeanor drug possession and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation, the Times reported.

A month later, Oakland police arrested Nabavi again with methamphetamine and a glass pipe, the Times also said. After six days in jail, he again pleaded no contest to drug possession under Proposition 36, which allows people convicted of certain drug offenses to receive treatment in lieu of jail time.

These arrests later “became a roadblock” on Nabavi’s path to obtaining a psychology license, the Times said. After the California Psychology Board approved his license in 2006, it placed him on probation with requirements that he undergo substance use treatment and complete random drug testing.

But by 2008, Nabavi convinced the board to end his probation, explaining that he had been clean and sober since May 2002 and had worked to get his master’s degree and doctorate so that he could open a practice focused on helping people overcome drug and alcohol addiction, the Times also reported.

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