Democratic donor Ed Buck is under intense scrutiny following the death of a second Black gay man in his home.
As Blavity has reported, Timothy Dean died of an apparent drug overdose at Buck's California residence Monday. The circumstances of Dean's death mirror those of Gemmel Moore's passing. Moore died in Buck's home in July 2017.
The Daily Mail has published two accounts from men who say they had interactions with Buck similar to Moore and Dean's experiences.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jermaine Gagnon told the paper he had three encounters with 63-year-old Buck in 2018. Gagnon claims he met Buck on Adam4Adam, a gay dating site. He says he was paid between $200 and $250 plus airfare to travel from Minnesota and Dallas to California.
During each of his visits, Gagnon alleges Buck gave him a uniform to wear: a muscle shirt, white underwear, a pair of white long johns and white socks. Gagnon shared photos of himself so attired next to Buck on a mattress. He also shared a flight itinerary and a picture of an extensive collection of sex toys.
Gagnon says Buck had 7-foot mirrors suspended from the ceiling facing the mattress.
“Anywhere you look in this room, you'll see yourself in the mirror," Gagnon said. "What mostly caught my attention was the windows, they were covered in fabric. You couldn't see out of them, and nobody can see in. He had this red and black toolbox with all types of fetish toys, like c**k rings, sex toys. He also has needles inside this drawer.”
The first time he hooked up with Buck, the two shared a meth pipe, Gagnon said. He says the other two times they met, Buck insisted on injecting him with the drug.
“This time he introduced the point. He asked me; it was the first thing he said. I allowed him because it was my first time trying it. He has this big black old-school flashlight. It unscrews, and there's a whole bunch of drugs in there,” Gagnon said.
The man claims he never saw a needle enter Buck’s skin.
“He always told me, 'In my house, I'm the only person that can administrate,’” Gagnon said. “He only smoked. He would make a needle to inject himself, but he would inject me first. I never saw him inject himself in front of me. These are his drugs, his needles.”
The 28-year-old also believes he was drugged with the date rape drug GHB during his last visit with Buck.
“I could barely keep my eyes open. I was real drowsy and limp. I was laying in the middle of the floor,” Gagnon said. “We did the usual; I changed into his clothes. I drank most of the Gatorade; then, within a few minutes, I felt woozy. I didn't feel like my normal self.”
Gagnon believes he cheated death.
“If my body was a little bit weaker, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be telling you the story. I would have died at Ed Buck's house that night,” he said.
Another man, only known as Blake, told the Mail a similar story.
Blake died of an unrelated illness but kept receipts of his time with Buck, including photographs. Like Gagnon, he was allegedly instructed to change into Buck's preferred clothes and a pair of “black leather f**king boots.”
Blake’s photos match Gagnon’s description of Buck's home, and the white clothes Gagnon mentioned can be seen strewn on the floor. Another of Blake's snapshots shows drug paraphernalia including syringes, a blow torch and pipes. A kit of sex toys is also visible. In a screenshot of messages sent between Buck and Blake, the former claimed the Black man was “f**ked up beyond recognition.”
Blake's records feature the claim that Buck liked to use racist nicknames for him including “my n****r buddy," "my straight n****r buddy" and "Black boy.” A screenshot of Buck’s dating profile shows him mentioning he prefers “BLACKS” and has a fetish for “huge underwear, sports gear, mirror.”
Buck is currently under investigation for Dean’s death. Authorities have also reopened Moore’s case. Writer Jasmyne Cannick has been interviewing men who allegedly met with Buck since Moore’s death. She publishes their stories on her website. She also led a protest outside his home on Friday, reports ABC7.
“We started to figure out there was this pattern and practice where he solicited and went after young, gay, Black men — usually men who were homeless, HIV-positive, who were in need of food or money,” she told NBC. “Not all of these men were on drugs when they met Ed Buck, but Ed Buck got them on drugs.”
Gagnon said he believes Buck is a predator and hopes he will be punished.
“He needs to be put away for the rest of his life. I want to see Ed Buck prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. These boys are not just dying of an overdose; it's not a coincidence another person has died in the same home during the same situation,” he said.
“This man is a murderer, and he's getting away with it, and it's all because the media wants to sweep it under the rug because he's this rich, white man.”
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