Democratic Donor Ed Buck Arrested After Another Man Overdosed in His Home
Democratic donor Ed Buck was arrested Tuesday night and charged with running a drug house out of his apartment in West Hollywood following the nonfatal overdose of a 37-year-old man last week. The latest incident, which occurred on September 11, follows two others where men died of overdoses in his home, one in July 2017 and one in January of this year.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Buck is accused of injecting the man with methamphetamine, which he is alleged to have supplied. He has been charged with one felony count each of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine, and maintaining a drug house.
"I remain deeply concerned for the safety of people whose life circumstances may make them more vulnerable to criminal predators," Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said. “With this new evidence, I authorized the filing of criminal charges against Ed Buck."
Prosecutors have recommended bail be set at $4 million. If convicted, Buck faces a possible maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison.
Buck was not charged in connection with the deaths of the two men who died in his apartment previously. Gemmel Moore, 26, was found dead in Buck's home on July 27, 2017, in what was ruled an accidental methamphetamine overdose. His mother has pursued a wrongful death lawsuit against Buck, saying he "had a predatory and injurious system of soliciting Black men and watching them cling to life."
The suit also names Lacey and Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum as defendants, alleging Buck was not prosecuted "because he is white, and because Mr. Moore was Black."
Moore left behind journals that outlined how Buck got him addicted to meth, and saw him expressing a desire to get his life back together, as well as fears that his situation might end in his death.
Timothy Dean, who was also black, died in Buck's apartment on January 7 of this year. Buck's attorney, Seymour Amster, claimed at the time that the two had been friends for 25 years and that Buck had attempted to get he and his other friends who had drug problems to quit using. Following Buck's arrest, he told CBS he will fight "vigorously" to defend his clients against the charges.