Ed Buck Charged With Running A Drug Den After Third Man Overdoses At His Home
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UPDATE: Ed Buck is now facing federal charges for the overdose death of Gemmel Moore, the 26-year-old black man who was found dead in Buck's home in 2017.
Federal investigators have charged Buck with one count of distribution of methamphetamine that resulted in Moore's death. A federal complaint also detailed how Buck continued to pursue men following the deaths of Moore and Timothy Dean.
Per the Los Angeles Times:
Ten men told investigators that Buck had paid them to use drugs and dress up in skimpy underwear for his own sexual pleasure. Several of the men claimed they lost consciousness after Buck served them a drink, and some said they woke up to the sight of him injecting drugs into their arms against their will, according to the complaint.
If convicted of the federal drug offense, Buck could spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. At minimum, he’d face 20 years in federal prison.
Read the original story below.
If convicted as charged, Buck would face a possible maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison.
Ed Buck, the political activist who came under fire in recent years after two men were found dead in his West Hollywood home from an overdose, was charged Tuesday with operating a drug house and giving methamphetamine to a third man.
READ: Second Black Man Found Dead At Polticial Activist And Democratic Donor Ed Buck's Home
In a report from CBS Los Angeles, Buck was charged with one felony count each of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house. The 65-year-old provided the methamphetamine to a 37-year-old man last week. The victim suffered an overdose but survived.
Prosecutors have since went forward with a motion recommending that Buck's bail be set at $4 million, referring to the political activist as a "violent, dangerous sexual predator," who "mainly preys on men made vulnerable by addiction and homelessness."
The motion also said that Buck's actions "led to the death of two men in Buck's apartment, Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean." Both Moore and Dean were black men.
"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 in a statement. "With this new evidence, I authorized the filing of criminal charges against Ed Buck."
Buck is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. If convicted as charged, he would face a possible maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison.
Source: CBS Los Angeles
