@scamp
You know I have to check this. I have obtained death certificates of distant relatives but these are for deaths sometime in the past and I have gotten them through the genealogical services of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints (Mormon Church).
I am not sure about very recent death certificates. I also did not read the poster’s comment as throughly as I should have where he stated that he knows the date and location of his friend’s death. I was going to suggest using some of the on-line indices like California or Connecticut which are kept reasonably up-to-date on-line.
You can obtain “un-certified” copies of a death certificate by stating that you are requesting this for genealogical purposes. I have never tried this for a friend, only for a relative. But again, if the Mormons have microfilmed the records of this particular city, getting a photocopy is really a snap.
SRM