Political contributor Ed Buck sentenced to 30 years in prison for overdose deaths of two gay Black men

Democratic contributor Ed Buck was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Thursday after being convicted on charges related to the overdose deaths of two Black men in his home.

Ed Buck sentenced

Buck, 67, was found guilty last year of giving the men drugs during sexual encounters, leading to them to overdose in his apartment in West Hollywood, California.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Buck, saying he preyed on the vulnerable — often young gay Black men — for his sexual fetish.

Buck’s defense attorneys sought a decade behind bars, saying he was sexually abused as a child and health problems led to his drug addiction.

Victims

In July 2017, Gemelle Moore, 26, was found dead of an overdose in Buck’s apartment.

Buck had flown Moore from Texas that morning for drug use and by sunset he was dead.

Though the circumstances of Moore’s death was peculiar, Buck was only  questioned by authorities and not arrested.

While his was being investigated for Moore’s murder, Buck was busy luring in more vulnerable young gay Black men. This time it was Timothy Dean.

Buck texted Dean to express his annoyance over the Moore investigation.

About 18 months after Moore’s death, authorities were back at Buck’s apartment on Jan. 7, 2019, to investigate Dean’s death.

Even after Dean’s death, Buck was still not arrested. And he continued to prey on more young gay Black men. His next victim was Dane Brown and he would survive to tell his story.

Brown was homeless and later moved into Buck’s apartment, where he was injected with meth almost daily and often several times a day.

He was hospitalized on September 4, 2019, after Buck shot him up three times with back-to-back doses. He had five times the meth in his system than Moore and Dean had when they died, prosecutors said.

Brown returned less than a week later and felt himself overdosing after Buck injected him three times with meth. Like other victims who testified against Buck at trial last summer, Brown was nearly immobilized. He said Buck wouldn’t help him.

Brown managed to get out of the apartment and made it to a nearby gas station, where he called for help and was taken to a hospital. His traumatic account of being revived twice finally led to Buck’s arrest.

Ed Buck exploited young gay Black men

Prosecutors said Buck “exploited the wealth and power balance” between himself and these men. They said he specifically targeted young gay Black homeless men in order to exploit them sexually.

In court filings, prosecutors said Buck “spent thousands of dollars on drugs and party and play sessions that destroyed lives and bred insidious addictions.”

“Buck used his money and privilege to exploit the wealth and power imbalances between himself and his victims, who were unhoused, destitute, and/or struggling with addiction,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Norell said in a court filing.

Buck was a notable political donor who had given more than $53,000 to Democratic candidates and to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee since 2008, according to federal records. Several Democrats returned Buck’s campaign donations after he was charged.