California authorities have revealed that a man found dead in a West Hollywood apartment died of an “accidental” overdose of methamphetamines, marking the second time in as many years that a black man was found dead in the home of the same wealthy, white, Democratic political donor known for sharing powerful narcotics with the black, gay men with whom he surrounded himself.
The L.A. Times reports that the death of 55-year-old Timothy Dean has been ruled accidental, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. On Jan. 7, 2019, Dean, a fashion consultant for Saks Fifth Avenue, was found dead in Ed Buck’s West Hollywood apartment.
Buck, 64, had relocated to Hollywood after making a small fortune with an Arizona company that provided driver’s license information. The “millionaire, self-acknowledged homosexual and registered Republican” eventually left Arizona and the GOP because of their LGBTQ intolerance and became a major political donor. Over the years, he has donated millions to Democratic candidates including Hillary Clinton and California politicians.
Since moving to West Hollywood, Buck became infamous for rumors of offering money to young black men for their company. One of those men was Gemmel Moore who was also found dead at Buck’s home from an accidental overdose of methamphetamines in July 2017.
Multiple men, all young, black and gay, have come forward since Moore’s death with evidence that Buck often encourages the men with whom he keeps company to take drugs. Dean’s friends assert that he didn’t drink or do drugs. One man, Damar Love, has publicly shared pictures taken inside Buck’s apartment showing drug paraphernalia. Another provided journalist Jasmyne Cannick screenshots of himself surrounded by drug paraphernalia. In a journal entry, 26-year-old Moore wrote that Buck introduced him to illicit substances.
“I honestly don’t know what to do,” the journal excerpt reads. “I’ve became addicted to drugs and the worst one at that. Ed Buck is the one to thank he gave me my first injection of crystal meth it was very painful but after all the troubles I became addicted to the pain and fetish/fantasy.”
In the entry, Moore goes on to say, “If it didn’t hurt so bad I’d kill myself, but for now, I’ll just let Ed Buck do it.”
The Times writes:
In the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Moore’s mother, LaTisha Nixon said that Buck preyed on black men and that he had solicited her son for sex numerous times. During the encounters, she alleged, Buck insisted on injecting Moore with crystal methamphetamine and then forced him to watch pornography and perform sex acts while intoxicated.
Buck’s attorney, Seymour Amster, has described Moore as a “good friend” of Buck, and Dean as an “old friend.”
Amster said in a phone interview Monday evening that Dean came to Buck’s home under the influence and didn’t ingest any drugs while there.
“We stand by our position that unfortunately Mr. Dean ingested drugs at a location other than Mr. Buck’s, and he came over intoxicated, and it’s a tragedy,” Amster said Monday.
L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said she and the Sheriff’s department are continuing to investigate the death of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean. However, Lacey has already declined to file charges against Buck for Moore’s death, citing insufficient evidence.
So, despite the numerous allegations, photographs showing drug paraphernalia, the journal entries and two dead black bodies, Lacey has never charged Buck with a crime.