Ed Buck, 65, was hit with new federal charges on Thursday in Los Angeles
Infamous Democrat donor Ed Buck has been hit with federal charges in the drug overdose deaths of two black men in his apartment, and now faces up to life in prison.
Buck, 65, was charged with one count of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death on Thursday in Los Angeles, where he was transferred into federal custody by state officials.
The federal charge carries a penalty of 20 years to life in prison.
Buck had already been hit with state charges that carried a penalty of up to five years and eight months, and local prosecutors say those charges will remain in place until they see the result of the federal case.
The new federal charge specifically relates to the 2017 death of 26-year-old Gemmel Moore in Buck’s West Hollywood apartment, though an unsealed indictment also refers to the January death of 55-year-old Timothy Dean and reveals that investigators located at least nine other victims who say they survived harrowing and sickening encounters with Buck.
U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna (above) announced the new federal charge of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death at a press conference on Thursday
Gemmel Moore, 26, (left) was found dead of a methamphetamine overdose in July 2017 and Timothy Dean, 55, (right) was also found dead of an overdose at Buck’s apartment in January
Even after the deaths of Moore and Dean, Buck continued to solicit men to engage in dangerous sexual fetish play involving drugs as recently as this summer, prosecutors say.
So prolific were his sick appetites that he was known as ‘Dr Kevorkian’ among the local homeless population, one man living in West Hollywood’s Plummer Park told investigators.
The homeless man said that Buck paid him $60 in exchange for sex, and that Buck told him it was ‘part of his role playing and fantasy to inject people with methamphetamine.’
The homeless man said he reluctantly agreed to a small dose, but that Buck emptied an entire syringe into his veins, according to the charging documents.
Buck was visited by a young black man at his West Hollywood apartment earlier this month. It is unclear if the man pictured is one of the victims referred to in the federal complaint
The homeless man said Buck forced him to dress in white underwear and a jock strap, and painfully bound his genitals, until he lost consciousness. When he came to, he says Buck paid him off and told him to shower and leave.
Prosecutors plan to ask a federal magistrate to order Buck held without bond pending his trial.
‘We believe he poses a significant risk to public safety,’ U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna said at a press conference on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Buck was arrested on state charges of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house.
He appeared in court on Thursday afternoon wearing an anti-suicide smock and was ordered held in lieu of a $4 million bond.
Ed Buck, 65, appeared in court wearing an anti-suicide smock Thursday in Los Angeles and his bail was set at $4million
The Democratic donor was charged with battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house
Buck is seen hiding his face in the back of a police cruiser after he was arrested at his West Hollywood home on Tuesday evening
Buck’s state bail documents reveal that he is officially a suspect in the deaths of Moore and Dean.
Local justice campaigner Jasmyne Cannick said law enforcement sources say Buck is due to face homicide charges after his arraignment
The donor, who has contributed almost $1million to both local Democrats and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, was arrested on Tuesday after a third 36-year-old man overdosed in his apartment, narrowly escaping death.
Local justice campaigner Jasmyne Cannick led a campaign claiming local police and the DA failed to prosecute Buck because of racial bias as his alleged victims were vulnerable black men. She helped victim Moore’s family launch a lawsuit against both Buck and DA Jackie Lacey.
‘This is a victory for our community because it says our lives matter. Black queer lives matter,’ Cannick told DailyMail.com. ‘I’m really happy for the families. They’re ecstatic. It just goes to show perseverance and persistence pays off. It’s been two years now.
‘It shows even with someone like Ed Buck, a white Democrat who somehow has money and privilege, if we just keep screaming long enough, we can get justice.
‘Jackie Lacey refused to prosecute Ed Buck for the death of Gemmel Moore last July, and here we are today, finally, and he is going to be prosecuted.
‘I’m happy that he is being moved into federal custody and that this case is not going to be tried by her office.’
Buck is allegedly ‘a violent, dangerous sexual predator’ who offered drugs, money and shelter to mainly addicted and homeless men in exchange for participating in sexual fetishes, including administering dangerous drug doses. He is seen above with Hillary Clinton in 2015
The Los Angeles District Attorney wrote in a memo to a judge requesting $4 million bail that Buck is ‘a violent, dangerous sexual predator’ and his ‘aggressive and malevolent behavior led to the death of two men in Buck’s apartment.’
The memo confirms that buck ‘is not only facing the current filed charges, but he is also still a suspect in the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean,’ while his arrest warrant is signed by an officer in the LAPD’s homicide squad.
In the scathing bail memo, the prosecutor wrote that the Democrat donor ‘manipulates his victims into participating in his sexual fetishes’, which include ‘supplying and personally administering dangerously large doses of narcotics to his victims.’
‘Not deterred by the senseless deaths of Moore and Dean,’ the memo claims, ‘the defendant nearly killed a third victim last week.
‘The defendant’s predatory acts and conscious disregard for human life must be stopped.’
Buck was set to be arraigned Thursday but the judge, Francis Bennett II, delayed the case until October 11. Bail was agreed at $4 million.
Federal agencies are yet to file charges over the alleged homicide case against the wealthy donor.
In a photo obtained by DailyMail.com, Buck smokes meth with a painfully thin, drug-addicted homeless young black man in his apartment – a partner he had found on the street and offered $300 to carry out his bizarre ‘fetish’ requests. Buck ordered the man to wear dirty white long johns and black leather ‘f***ing boots’
Prosecutors allege Buck provided the meth that killed two men who were found in his apartment in 2017 and this January
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were spotted outside Buck’s apartment building on Wednesday following his arrest the day prior
Authorities allege that Buck personally injected drugs into a man who survived an overdose this month.
The alleged victim entered Buck’s apartment and the donor ‘personally and deliberately’ administered a large dose of methamphetamine, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Prosecutors say that the man grew concerned that he was given an exceedingly high dosage, and left.
The man is alleged to have returned to Buck’s apartment a week later on September 11.
Authorities allege that Buck again gave the man ‘two dangerously large’ doses of methamphetamine, resulting in an overdose.
Prosecutors allege Buck thwarted the man’s attempts to get help, but he managed to escape to a nearby gas station, where he called for help.
The man was rushed to hospital and treated.