LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 Ed Buck appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for arraignment September 19, 2019 arrested and charged with operating a drug house, with prosecutors calling him a violent sexual predator who preys on men struggling with addiction and homelessness. The prominent Democratic donor and LGBTQ political activist will also face federal drug charges over deaths at his West Hollywood home. (Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
After years’ worth of calls for justice, Ed Buck received a 30-year sentence on Thursday for the proven deadly and drug-fueled “parties” he hosted from 2011 to 2019.
A jury found the white and wealthy heavyweight donor guilty of nine felonies for multiple crimes. His criminal behavior included injecting two Black men, Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, with methamphetamine that subsequently caused their deaths.
Gemmel forcibly overdosed in 2017 and Timothy passed away in January 2019. But those justice calls weren’t answered until last July when the conviction came through. Months after Timothy’s death, another man overdosed twice in one week inside Ed’s apartment. The man survived and the following week police arrested Ed.
According to officials, Judge Christina A. Snyder of California gave the 67-year-old 360 months behind bars on two counts of distribution of meth resulting in death.
A jury also convicted Ed on “four counts of distribution of methamphetamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises and two counts of enticement to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution.” per court documents.
“It was a tremendous honor to be able to vindicate the rights of the victims in the case,” Assistant US Attorney Chelsea Norell said at the time of Buck’s conviction.
During Ed’s 2019 indictment, additional details were revealed about the acts committed behind what the predator called the “gates of hell.” Prosecutors said Ed had a pattern of inviting men to his apartment, providing drugs and performing sexual acts. Per NPR, he described the young, Black men “constantly visiting” as “social work clients” to his neighbors, but this was far from the scenario.
The 2019 indictment described Ed’s pattern “party and play.” One way Ed preyed on men was by connecting on social media, including through a gay dating site. Following the sentence, prosecutors described how else Ed sought people, especially Black men, to victimize.
“This defendant preyed upon vulnerable victims — men who were drug-dependent and often without homes — to feed an obsession that led to death and misery,” United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said. “Mr. Buck continues to pose a clear danger to society.”
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