Democratic donor arrested in LA; ran ‘drug den,’ prosecutors allege
A prominent Democratic donor and activist accused of running a drug den out of his West Hollywood apartment where a man overdosed last week on methamphetamine and where two other men have died since 2017 is a criminal predator, Los Angeles’ district attorney said in filing felony charges Tuesday.
“I remain deeply concerned for the safety of people whose life circumstances may make them more vulnerable to criminal predators,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement released by her office Tuesday. “With this new evidence, I authorized the filing of criminal charges against Ed Buck.”
Edward Buck, 65, was led away from his apartment in handcuffs Tuesday night. Prosecutors allege Buck used his “position of power” to draw his homeless, drug-addicted victims to his apartment and manipulate them, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing court records
The latest allegations follow the deaths of two men, 26-year-old Gemmell Moore in 2017; and a second man, Timothy Dean, 55, in January of this year.
Coroner’s officials originally ruled Moore’s 2017 death accidental, but Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives later reopened the case after Dean’s death in January.
Lacey’s office will recommend bail be set at $4 million when Buck faces a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Wednesday on charges suspicion of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house out of his apartment.
It was at the home on Sept. 11 where a 37-year-old overdosed after Buck allegedly injected him with the drug. The man survived.
The Sept. 11 incident was the man’s second close call in the space of a week, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing prosecutors’ court filings. Prosecutors allege Buck dosed the man with dangerous amounts of meth on Sept. 4 before the man was able to escape the apartment and call 911, the Times reported.
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