If you were participating in the betting pool on what it takes for a rich white man to face justice in America, Iโm sorry if you put your money on a single dead body or even two dead black men. As it turns out, three black men must overdose at a wealthy white manโs home before police will finally say: โEnough is enough.โ
Suggested Reading
At least thatโs the case with Ed Buck, a wealthy white Democratic donor who was charged with running a drug den after a 37-year-old man overdosed inside Buckโs West Hollywood, Calif., apartment last week. If youโre playing at home, thatโs two relatively young black men who have been found dead inside the wealthy 65-year-old tech entrepreneurโs home in two years and another who has fled Buckโs apartment and called for help after being injected with methamphetamine.
KCAL reports:
Buck, 65, was charged with one felony count each of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house.
According to the DAโs office, Buck was accused with injecting the victim with methamphetamine at the defendantโs apartment in the 1200 block of Laurel Avenue in West Hollywood. The man survived.
โI remain deeply concerned for the safety of people whose life circumstances may make them more vulnerable to criminal predators,โ Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement. โWith this new evidence, I authorized the filing of criminal charges against Ed Buck.โ
Lacey previously resisted charging Buck in the two prior deaths. Although she is known to be hesitant to charge white men with killing black men, her office now calls Buck a โviolent, dangerous sexual predator,โ who โmainly preys on men made vulnerable by addiction and homelessness.โ The court motion adds that Buck used โnarcotics, money, and shelterโ to manipulate young black men โinto participating in his sexual fetishes.โ
An Arizona native, Buck relocated to Hollywood after making a small fortune with a company that provided driverโs license information. The โmillionaire, self-acknowledged homosexual and registered Republicanโ eventually left Arizona and the GOP because of their LGBTQ intolerance and became a major political donor. Over the years, he has donated millions to Democratic candidates including Hillary Clinton and California politicians.
On July 27, 2017, Gemmel Moore was found in Buckโs bathroom after Buck allegedly injected the 26-year-old with drugs. Moore had voiced his fear of Buck to numerous friends and family members, even writing in his diary that Buck had a penchant for drugging young black men whom he had in his home.
On January 7, 2019, 55-year-old Timothy Dean, a well-known fashion consultant for Saks Fifth Avenue, died of an overdose at Buckโs apartment. Deanโs death was ruled โaccidentalโ and Lacey vowed to investigate.
According to the L.A. Times, the most recent victim actually left Buckโs apartment after prosecutors say Buck personally gave the man a โlarge dose of methamphetamineโ on September 4. The man, called โJohn Doeโ in court papers, returned to Buckโs apartment on Sept. 11, and Buck allegedly gave him another โtwo dangerously largeโ doses of meth. Authorities say Buck tried to prevent the man from calling for help but he finally escaped.
Multiple men, all young, black and gay, have come forward since Mooreโs death with evidence that Buck often encourages the men with whom he keeps company to take drugs. Deanโs friends assert that he didnโt drink or do drugs. One man, Damar Love, has publicly shared pictures taken inside Buckโs apartment showing drug paraphernalia. Another provided journalist Jasmyne Cannick screenshots of himself surrounded by drug paraphernalia. In a journal entry, 26-year-old Moore wrote that Buck introduced him to illicit substances.
โI honestly donโt know what to do,โ the journal excerpt reads. โIโve became [sic] addicted to drugs and the worst one at that. Ed Buck is the one to thank he gave me my first injection of crystal meth it was very painful but after all the troubles I became addicted to the pain and fetish/fantasy.โ
The charging documents also allege that Buckโs actions caused the death of Moore and Dean, explaining: โThe defendantโs predatory acts and conscious disregard for human life must be stopped.โ
Buck is set to be arraigned Wednesday and prosecutors have recommended $4 million bail. Buckโs attorney promised that Buck would fight the charges โvigorously.โ
Straight From
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.