Prominent Dem Donor Arrested After Third Overdose Victim Found in Home

Prominent Democratic donor Ed Buck has been arrested at his West Hollywood home following the discovery of a drug overdose victim — the third victim found on Buck’s property in less than two years.

There had been widespread calls for Buck’s prosecution following the overdose deaths of two black gay men found in Buck’s apartment. But the coroner ruled both men died of methamphetamine overdoses.

This time, the Los Angeles County district attorney wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

ABC7:

A bail motion from the Los Angeles district attorney’s office states that Buck is “a violent, dangerous sexual predator. He mainly preys on men made vulnerable by addiction and homelessness.” According to the documents, Buck personally administered “dangerously large doses of narcotics to his victims” and is “a predator with no regard for human life.”

What a piece of work. What was he doing walking the streets in the first place?

Activists have been calling for Buck’s arrest, believing him responsible responsible for the deaths of Gemmel Moore, 26, and Timothy Dean, 55. Both black gay men were found in Buck’s West Hollywood’s apartment less than two years apart. The coroner ruled that both deaths were caused by methamphetamine overdoses.

District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s office said Tuesday that Buck, 65, has now been charged with operating a drug house and providing meth to a 37-year-old man who overdosed last week.

He was charged with one felony count each of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house.

Authorities say Buck injected the victim with meth on Sept. 11 at Buck’s home in the 1200 block of Laurel Avenue in West Hollywood. The man suffered an overdose but survived.

So, if Buck is convicted, he goes to jail for the rest of his life, right? Not exactly. “If convicted on all charges, Buck faces a possible maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison.”

As with all things in these times, there’s a racial angle to play. Buck was injecting gay black men with drugs and getting away with it.

Jasmyne Cannick, a political consultant and advocate for one of the victim’s families:

Like I’ve been saying all along, Buck has never stopped the same behavior that cost Gemmel and Timothy their lives. All this time Ed Buck has been operating with the impunity he knows he has as a white man. He wasn’t sneaking these men into his apartment or even trying to hide his behavior. But it’s a start. Ultimately, I want to see Ed Buck charged with the deaths of the Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean–and I am not giving up hope on that happening.

Is it that Buck is white that he was literally able to get away with murder? Or is “green” the power color here? Or perhaps it’s ideology?

It could very well be a combination of wealth, power, and race that gave Buck a pass all these years.