A prominent Democratic donor in California at whose home multiple young men have overdosed on illegal drugs — two fatally — has finally been taken into custody and will face justice for his alleged actions.
Ed Buck, a wealthy LGBTQ activist and donor to Democrat politicians, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with operating a drug house after a third individual overdosed on methamphetamines in his West Hollywood apartment, Fox News reports.
Prominent Democratic donor arrested
Buck was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday and was being held after bond was set at $4 million. In requesting that amount, prosecutors described 65-year-old Buck as “a violent, dangerous sexual predator” who preyed upon those who were homeless or suffered from drug addiction.
Prosecutors also said Buck had “no regard for human life” and accused him of personally administering “dangerously large doses of narcotics to his victims.”
Two of those previously harmed — 26-year-old Gemmel Moore and 55-year-old Timothy Dean, both gay black men — were found dead from meth overdoses in Buck’s home within the past two years, and though Buck had reportedly been investigated in connection to those deaths, he was never arrested or charged.
However, after an unnamed 37-year-old man overdosed — and thankfully survived — in Buck’s home on Sept. 11, the prominent activist and donor was taken into custody, and his home was searched for evidence.
Buck is now facing three felony charges, including battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine, and operating a drug house. If convicted of all three charges, he could face up to five years and eight months in state prison.
Preyed upon the vulnerable
The Los Angeles Times reported that while authorities had initially concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Buck in the two deadly overdose incidents, this recent third overdose could prompt a second look by investigators at those earlier deaths.
Moore was found dead in Buck’s apartment in 2017, naked on a mattress and surrounded by used hypodermic needles and glass pipes. His demise was ruled an accident, but a journal kept by Moore strongly indicated that Buck was likely responsible for the overdose death.
Dean was similarly found dead in the apartment in January of this year, an event that sparked outrage among activists and protesters who believed that Buck was being “protected” from prosecution due to his status as an older, white male with ties to top Democratic officials in California and across the country.
In February, Moore’s mother filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Buck that accused him of being a “drug dealer” who murdered her son via an overdose injection of crystal meth.
The families of Moore and Dean, as well as all of those who have closely followed the case and prayed that another overdose death wouldn’t occur, can all breathe a bit easier now that Buck has been taken into custody and won’t be administering meth injections to vulnerable homeless gay black men any time soon.