The man who was found dead this week inside the apartment of Ed Buck, a political activist and donor in Los Angeles, was identified Thursday as Timothy Dean, 55, of West Hollywood. He was described as a fashion consultant who had been friends with Mr. Buck and had played in gay basketball competitions.

The authorities found Mr. Dean when they responded around 1 a.m. on Monday to a 911 call about a person in a West Hollywood apartment who was unconscious and not breathing.

Detectives in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department quickly turned their attention to Mr. Buck because they had visited the same residence under similar circumstances in July 2017. At that time, they found another man, Gemmel Moore, 26, naked and dead of a drug overdose on a mattress in Mr. Buck’s living room.

Both Mr. Dean and Mr. Moore were black, which raised suspicions among political activists and critics of Mr. Buck, a 64-year-old white man who has given more than $116,000 to Democratic candidates and groups in the past decade or so. Protesters have gathered outside Mr. Buck’s apartment to demand justice for Mr. Dean and Mr. Moore.