Democrat megadonor Ed Buck arrested after third man overdoses at his house in two years

Renowned Democratic donor from California Ed Buck was arrested on Tuesday, September 17, and accused of running a drug house after yet another man suffered an overdose inside his residence in West Hollywood last week. The 37-year-old victim is the third person to have faced the ordeal after two black men who died from overdoses in a span of 18 months inside Buck’s house. The businessman came under public scrutiny after those two cases but was not charged. 

An LGBT political activist, Buck was charged with three counts of battery and accused of injecting the third man with methamphetamine on September 11, a report in the Los Angeles Times said. According to court papers obtained by the LA Times, prosecutors accused Buck of using his influential position to manipulate victims into taking part in his sexual fixation. 

“These fetishes include supplying and personally administering dangerously large doses of narcotics to his victims,” the Times quoted prosecutors as saying. Buck’s attorney Seymour Amster told Fox News that he was not going to make any remark on the arrest and said he was handling the matter. In the past, Amster defended Buck and said that he had done nothing wrong. 

Two men died at Buck's apartment in July 2017 and January 2019 

The two men who lost their lives because of drug overdoses at Buck’s house are Gemmel Moore, 26, in July 2017 and Timothy Dean, 55, in January this year. No criminal charges were filed in those cases because of insufficient evidence. Activists have called for Buck’s arrest. 
 
The prosecutors are reportedly seeking a bail of $4 million. According to LA’s KABC-TV, the Democratic megadonor could face a jail term of five years and eight months if found guilty. He will be produced in court on Wednesday, September 18.