Democratic donor charged with running 'drug den' after two overdose deaths

Ed Buck, a prominent Democratic donor and LGBT activist in Los Angeles, has been arrested and charged with running a “drug den”, with prosecutors saying he was a “violent, dangerous sexual predator” responsible for two deaths.

Buck, 65, preyed on men who struggled with drug addiction and homelessness and personally administered dangerously large doses of narcotics to his victims, leading to the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean in his apartment, prosecutors said. He was arrested on Tuesday after he “nearly killed a third victim” last week when another man overdosed in his home, but survived, the LA district attorney said.

Buck was charged with three felonies – battery causing serious bodily injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house. Buck’s lawyer did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

Related: Police investigate second death in two years at home of Democratic donor

Black LGBT activists in California have been fighting for years for Buck to be brought to justice and have accused local law enforcement of ignoring their concerns and allowing the politically connected activist to continue targeting vulnerable people. The case has exposed racism in the LA gay community, said advocates for Moore, 26, and Dean, 55, who were both black and overdosed on methamphetamine inside Buck’s West Hollywood home.

“This is a night that we can go to sleep and know that Ed Buck is not torturing a black gay man in his apartment,” Nana Gyamfi, a civil rights lawyer representing Moore’s family, told the Guardian on Wednesday. “That is a relief … But it’s hard for me to be joyous when I know the costs that have been paid.”

A wealthy donor also known for animal rights activism, Buck had a pattern of manipulating his victims into “participating in his sexual fetishes” and was not deterred by the first two deaths he caused, prosecutors alleged on Tuesday. Authorities at the time ruled the deaths were accidental. Moore died in July 2017, and Dean died in January 2019, but Buck’s “deadly behavior” continued, the DA wrote.

On 4 September, he “personally and deliberately administered” a dangerously large dose of meth to another victim, identified as Joe Doe in court filings. Doe, 37, became concerned he was having an overdose and left Buck’s apartment to get medical attention. When the victim returned on 11 September, prosecutors said Buck again intentionally injected two dangerous doses into the victim, who again showed signs of an overdose.

Buck, however, refused to render aid to him and thwarted his attempts to get help, the DA’s office said. The victim was eventually able to flee the apartment and call 911 from a nearby gas station, and he was transported to a hospital. The LA sheriff’s department recovered hundreds of photos of “men in compromising positions” at Buck’s apartment, and prosecutors said it was “only a matter of time before another one of these vulnerable young men dies of an overdose”.

Jasmyne Cannick, a local activist, has been leading the charge to hold Buck accountable, including conducting her own interviews and investigations about him. She rushed to his West Hollywood apartment on Tuesday night when she heard about the arrest, telling reporters: “I feel vindicated for all the people who said it was never going to happen.”

She added: “Black gay men’s lives matter. The whole black LGBT community is going to be celebrating this evening because our lives matter.”

Gyamfi, who is representing Moore’s family in a civil lawsuit against Buck, said Moore’s mother, LaTisha Nixon, was overwhelmed by the news: “She was in tears. She described them as tears of joy.”

Even though prosecutors wrote that Buck was responsible for the fatal overdoses, the DA’s office has not filed charges related to the two deaths, which activists said was another example of law enforcement’s inaction and inadequate response.

“These charges are nothing compared to what it is he has done,” said Gyamfi.

Jackie Lacey, LA county’s district attorney, said in a statement that she authorized the filing of criminal charges with the “new evidence” from the latest overdose. Prosecutors recommended that bail be set at $4m and said Buck faces five years and eight months in prison.

Activists with Black Lives Matter LA and other groups have been protesting against Lacey for years, urging her to prosecute police who kill civilians and demanding she take action on Buck.

“The arrest wouldn’t have happened without that pressure,” said Melina Abdullah, a Black Lives Matter LA co-founder. But the felony counts he is facing appear to be the “lightest charges that could be filed”, she said, adding: “If [Lacey] had done something when Gemell was killed in Buck’s apartment, Timothy would still be alive. And this third victim wouldn’t have been victimized.”

Asked about the lack of homicide charges, a spokesperson for Lacey said the cases “are currently under investigation” and declined to comment further.

Activists said that in the absence of law enforcement action, they have been working to warn people about Buck and the threat he posed. Gyamfi said she hoped the case would more broadly expose this type of predatory behavior.

“I’m most concerned about our community and how we keep ourselves safe,” she said, adding, “Folks have felt marginalized and exploited even by the white LGBTQ community. This is happening in West Hollywood … and everyone knows it.”