Another Black Man Has Died in the Home of Democratic Donor Ed Buck

Community leaders were outraged when the L.A. County District Attorney refused to prosecute Buck last year. Now another young man is dead. BY Neal Broverman

The body of another young black man has been found at the West Hollywood apartment of Ed Buck — a prominent Democratic donor who allegedly has a fetish for drugging sex workers — reports Wehoville.

Buck, a white man in his 60s, was investigated previously by authorities after the death of Gemmel Moore, who died of a methamphetamine overdose in Buck's home in July 2017. Since Moore's death was classified as an accidental overdose, numerous young black gay men have alleged that Buck has a fetish for shooting drugs into black men he picks up off the street or on hookup sites. Moore had written about Buck injecting him with dangerous drugs before his death.

“I’ve become addicted to drugs and the worst one at that,” Moore wrote in his journal in December 2016. “Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of crystal meth.”

Buck claims he's not responsible for Moore's death and did not furnish him with drugs. The Los Angeles County District Attorney declined to file charges against Buck, saying there was "insufficient evidence."

The name of the person who died in Buck's home in the early hours of Monday has not been released. Wehoville described him as a young African-American man and featured a picture of a body being removed on a gurney.

Community activists like Jasmyne Cannick have accused Los Angeles officials of declining to prosecute Buck in 2017 thanks to his contributions to powerful politicians such as Hillary Clinton, California Gov. Jerry Brown, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, and numerous West Hollywood City Council members. Cannick is organizing a vigil and rally for tonight in front of Buck's home, at 1234 Laurel Ave.

"City Council members John D’Amico and Lindsey Horvath have reached out to City Manager Paul Arevalo, asking him to request that newly elected Sheriff Alex Villanueva put priority on investigating [the young man's] death," Wehoville reports. "Councilmember Lauren Meister also has pressed for the homicide division to investigate."

Buck's attorney, Seymour Amster, characterized the death today as an accidental overdose and said Buck is cooperating with investigators. “From what I know, it was an old friend who died of an accidental overdose, and, unfortunately, we believe that the substance was ingested at some place other than the apartment,” Amster told the Los Angeles Times. “The person came over intoxicated.”

“He’s shaken up,” Amster said of Buck. “All indications are he had nothing to do with this tragedy.”

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