Ed Buck, Accused of Drugging Men to Death, Hit With 4 New Felonies

A federal grand jury added four felony charges to the Justice Department's case against Ed Buck, the onetime political activist accused of drugging vulnerable Black gay men, two of whom died in his West Hollywood home.

Along with his five earlier drug and prostitution charges, jurors added a superseding indictment that included two charges of enticing individuals to travel interstate to engage in prostitution, one charge of distributing methamphetamine, and one count of "using his residence for the purpose of distributing narcotics such as methamphetamine, and the sedatives gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and clonazepam," according to a Justice Department press release.

Years after activists demanded action from the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Buck was arrested last September on charges including battery and operating a drug house after the near overdose of a man at Buck's West Hollywood apartment. That incident followed the deaths of Gemmel Moore, in July 2017, and Timothy Dean, in January 2019, at the same residence; both gay Black men died of drug overdoses. Moore's diary indicated Buck liked to inject Black men with drugs, often to the point of unconsciousness. Other alleged victims came forward to make the same claims against Buck, with some saying he injected them without their consent and after they were already unconscious.

Days later, federal authorities added their own charges against Buck, who was a prominent Republican activist in Arizona in the 1980s and decades later became a donor to high-profile Democrats. Facing numerous state and federal charges, the 65-year-old Buck could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

The Justice Department's press release alleges that Buck "solicited victims on social media platforms, including a gay dating website, and used a recruiter to scout and proposition men."

Buck is scheduled to go to trial January 19, 2021.

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