A verdict was reached Tuesday in the trial of former political donor Ed Buck in his federal trial involving the distribution of controlled substances resulting in the deaths of two men.
The verdict is expected to be read shortly in court. Attorneys and family members of the men who died are expected to speak after the verdict is announced.
Buck was on trial in Los Angeles on nine felony counts, including two counts of distribution of controlled substances resulting in death, stemming from the deaths of Gemmel Moore in July 2017 and Timothy Dean in January 2019. If convicted, each of the two charges carry 20-year mandatory minimums.
Buck is additionally charged with knowingly enticing Moore to travel to Los Angeles to engage in prostitution.
He also faces a second count of enticing a different man to travel with the same intent; one count of knowingly and intentionally distributing methamphetamine; and one count of using his West Hollywood apartment for the purpose of distributing narcotics such as methamphetamine, and the sedatives gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and clonazepam.
Buck, who has reportedly given more than $500,000 to mostly Democratic politicians and causes since 2000, maintains that the deaths stemmed from underlying medical conditions, not the drugs the men ingested.
Political activist and donor Ed Buck is accused of supplying methamphetamine to five men, two of whom overdosed and died. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.
Prosecutors say Buck exploited vulnerable, primarily Black men by paying them to come to his home, use drugs, then engage in sex play to satisfy a fetish.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Norell told the jury last week that dozens of men entered the “gates of hell” when they went to Buck’s garishly decorated apartment.
A string of men who survived “party and play” — drug and sex -sessions with Buck have testified of their experiences at the North Laurel Avenue apartment.
The defense case was expected to begin Friday and closing arguments could be presented at the end of the day or early next week.
