LOS ANGELES-- Ed Buck, the California Democratic megadonor, was arrested Tuesday and charged with operating a drug house after a third man reportedly suffered an overdose inside his West Hollywood home last week and survived.
Buck has faced public scrutiny after two black men died from overdoses 18 months apart inside his home. He was not charged in those cases.
Buck was charged with three counts of battery and is accused of injecting the alleged third victim with methamphetamine on Sept. 11, The Los Angeles Times reported.
A sheriff's vehicle transports Ed Buck following his arrest in West Hollywood. (ANG News)
Prosecutors wrote in court papers obtained by the Times that Buck used his position of power to manipulate his victims into participating in his sexual fetishes.
“These fetishes include supplying and personally administering dangerously large doses of narcotics to his victims,” the prosecutors wrote, according to the Times.
Seymour Amster, Buck’s attorney, told Fox News that he would not comment on the arrest and said he is dealing with the issue. Amster has in the past defended his client and insisted that he did nothing wrong.
In July 2017, a young black man, Gemmel Moore, was found dead of a drug overdose in Buck’s apartment. Buck, who is white, was not charged.
An autopsy report said Moore, 26, died of a methamphetamine overdose. He was found naked on a mattress in the living room, which was littered with drug paraphernalia.
Eighteen months later, 55-year-old Timothy Dean also suffered a methamphetamine overdose. Prosecutors didn’t file criminal charges, citing insufficient evidence. Activists, however, have called for his arrest.
In the most recent incident, Buck allegedly brought the man to his home earlier this month and injected him with methamphetamine. About a week later, the man returned to Buck's home and was injected again and suffered an overdose, according to court documents obtained by KTLA.
Buck is accused of thwarting the man's attempt to get help. The man fled the apartment and reportedly called for help from a nearby gas station. He survived but was treated at a hospital.
Prosecutors are reportedly seeking bail of $4 million. KABC-TV of Los Angeles reported that he faces up to five years and eight months in state prison if convicted. He is due in court Wednesday.
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