Ed Buck, a prominent Democratic Party donor, was found guilty Tuesday on all nine felony counts in relation to the deaths of two men, according to multiple reports.
Prosecutors said Buck lured the men, both Black, to his apartment via dating apps to perform sexual acts and would offer money to inject them with narcotics like methamphetamine, and the sedatives gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and clonazepam, either with or without their consent.
"Buck exerted power and control over his victims, typically targeting individuals who were destitute, homeless or struggling with drug addiction," the Department of Justice said in a release Tuesday, NBC News reported. "He exploited the wealth and power balance between them by offering his victims money to use drugs and to let Buck inject them with narcotics."
Victims in the case are 26-year-old Gemelle Moore, who overdosed in the 66-year-old’s West Hollywood, California apartment in July 2017 and Timothy Dean, who was found dead in the same home in January 2019.
According to a 2019 indictment, the practice was described as “party and play.” The government described his solicitation of Black men as a sexual fetish.
Buck was found guilty in U.S. District Court of all counts, including two counts of distribution of controlled substances resulting in death. He was also charged with two counts of enticing someone to travel with the intent to engage in prostitution, one count of knowingly and intentionally distributing methamphetamine and one count of using his residence for the purpose of distributing narcotics.
Assistant U.S. District Attorney Chelsea Norrell said she was honored to help seek justice for the victims.
“It was a tremendous honor to be able to vindicate the rights of the victims in the case," Norell said, CNN reported.
She also acknowledged and thanked the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration for helping bring the matters of the case to fruition.
"They put together a tremendous case and we would not have had the volume and quality of evidence without our law enforcement partners who are the unsung heroes here," Norell said.
According to federal records, Buck had donated over $53,000 to Democratic politicians, candidates and to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the last 13 years. After learning he was charged, a number of recipients returned their donations.
The political donor was initially arrested in Sept. 2019 on separate charges brought by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office. He was accused then of injecting a 37-year-old man with a large dose of meth, along with running a drug operation out of his Laurel Avenue apartment.
Following the verdict, the families of the victims and survivors spoke out, rejoicing in Buck’s conviction.
“Finally, Ed Buck will never harm anyone else, and I thank God for that,” Dean’s sister, Joyce Jackson said, CBS Los Angeles reported. “And as I leave L.A., going back home, I thank everybody that has helped keep us strong throughout the three weeks that we’ve been here.”
Survivor Dane Brown said he was “relieved” about the conviction and was thankful to still be alive.
“Walking out of that house, I didn’t know what was going to happen next, and I didn’t know all of this was going to happen but I’m so happy and so relieved that these families can get the justice that they deserve because they’re the ones who suffered pain more than I did,” he said.
“I made it out alive, but they’re suffering because they had to lose someone in order for this to happen,” he added.
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled as Buck remains in federal custody. He faces anywhere between 20 years and life in prison.
