Ed Buck, who has been a high-dollar donor to Democrats for years, is now facing his own high-dollar bail of four million dollars. Buck is accused of three California state charges—running a drug house, battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine, and distributing methamphetamine—and one federal charge of distributing methamphetamine resulting in death. Ed Buck was arrested in Los Angeles on September 17, 2019. 

Ed Buck, 65, has been a prominent LGBTQ activist for most of his adult life. His political activism started in the mid-1980s when he led a campaign to get Arizona governor Evan Mecham impeached (Buck had been raised in Arizona). Buck made his money from buying a courier service out of bankruptcy and then selling it. He has lived in West Hollywood since 1991. He has donated thousands of dollars to Democrats running for city council in West Hollywood, as well as the campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Ted Lieu.

Mysterious Deaths

The criminal charges against Buck came from an incident on September 11, 2019, but activists claim Buck has been a menace and predator for years. A 37-year-old man police are calling “Joe Doe” claims that Buck injected him with methamphetamine at Buck's apartment, and when Doe began suffering the effects of an overdose, Buck tried to stop him from seeking help. Joe Doe managed to run from Buck's apartment and called 911. Two other men, Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, also died from overdoses in Buck's apartment. Moore died in 2017 and Dean died in January 2019.

Activists claim that Buck was a sexual predator who targeted at-risk gay African-American men who were homeless or down on their luck. Joe Doe told police he had recently been homeless. Some of Buck's alleged victims have called him “Doctor Kevorkian” and claimed that he would slip a tranquilizer into their drink, and when they woke up they would find him injecting them with methamphetamine against their will. Jasmyne Cannick, who has been the lead activist in trying to get Buck arrested, said her own research has uncovered many men who had similar incidents with Buck. These men were ignored or turned away when they took their complaints to the Los Angeles sheriff's department.

After Moore's death in 2017, his journal was found and in it, he had written, “I've become 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.” Moore's death was ruled an accidental overdose and Los Angeles County prosecutors cited insufficient evidence and refused to file charges against Buck, but now with the case involving Joe Doe, the deaths of Moore and Dean will most likely be reopened.

Sigal Law Group

If you are facing serious charges such as the ones Ed Buck is facing, you deserve competent and experienced legal representation that will protect your rights. Sigal Law Group has years of experience in protecting their clients against criminal convictions in the greater Los Angeles area. Call them today at 818-325-0570 or fill out a contact form today to get started.