Democratic donor Ed Buck arrested after another man overdoses at his Hollywood home
Prosecutors say Ed Buck injected a 37-year-old man with meth and was operating a drug den; Jonathan Hunt reports from Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors assigned to the case of Ed Buck, the Democratic megadonor who was arrested Tuesday after a third man overdosed inside his Hollywood home, may face hurdles in court due to the key witness’ credibility, a legal analyst said.
Los Angeles County prosecutors said in a motion that Buck is a “violent, dangerous sexual predator” who offered drugs, money and shelter to mainly addicted and homeless men in exchange for their participation in sexual fetishes, including one that involved administering dangerous doses of drugs.
CLINTON, OBAMA SILENT ON ED BUCK DONATIONS
Buck is charged with furnishing methamphetamine and with battery causing serious bodily injury. He was scheduled for arraignment Wednesday.
The donor was arrested after an unidentified man claimed he overdosed twice inside Buck's apartment after being administered large doses of meth. The man claimed Buck tried to stop him from leaving but managed to flee and call for help from a nearby gas station.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the man provided key evidence to investigators. The detectives reportedly developed a pattern of conduct.
Alexandra Kazarian, a defense lawyer and legal analyst for KCBS-TV of Los Angeles, told the station that prosecutors need stress to jurors that three “very similar situations” occurred at this one location.
“Did he force it on them? Were they doing it voluntarily? Was he very cold and callous when they were overdosing or were they overdosing or where they overdosing and not able to read the situation,” Kazarian asked.
Buck, 65, has donated tens of thousands of dollars to California candidates, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, and is well known in LGBTQ political circles.
Buck came under investigation in January after 55-year-old Timothy Dean was found dead of an accidental methamphetamine overdose in his apartment. It was the second such death in two years, following the July 2017 death of Gemmel Moore, 26.
Both men were black. Buck, who is white, was not charged and critics later questioned if wealth, race or political ties influenced the investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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