Son of L.A. Clippers Owner Found Dead of “Apparent Drug Overdose”

Scott Sterling died of "an apparent drug overdose," according to the LA County Sheriff's Department and Coroner's Office

The body of Scott Sterling, son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, was found late Tuesday at the family's beachfront home in Malibu.

Homicide detectives responded to the Pacific Coast Highway home at about 11:30 p.m. after receiving a call for a welfare check at Malibu Beach Villas. The caller told responding Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies he had not heard from Scott Sterling, 32, for "several days."

Sterling was pronounced dead at the location, but a cause of death was not immediately available from the coroner's office. Sterling died of an "apparent drug overdose," according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Coroner's Office.

A coroner's van was at the residence early Wednesday, and an autopsy will be conducted before an official cause of death is determined.

The autopsy probably will not be conducted until Thursday or Friday, coroner's officials said.

Donald Sterling, who acquired the Clippers in 1981, is among the longest-tenured NBA owners. The team was located in San Diego at the time, and Sterling relocated the franchise to Los Angeles in 1984. 

Sterling has homes in Malibu and Beverly Hills, according to the Clippers web site. Police interviewed Scott Sterling after responding to the Beverly Hills home in 1999 for a report of a shooting, but prosecutors did not file charges.

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