WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA. (THECOUNT) — The Los Angeles coroner’s office said Thursday that 55-year-old Timothy Dean of West Hollywood was found dead at Ed Buck‘s apartment on Monday.
Buck, a one-time registered Republican, began getting involved in Southern California politics in the early 1990s, becoming a successful businessman, pioneering in computer technology, specifically in electronic information services, in Arizona before moving to Los Angeles, records say.
|
Advertisement |
Buck, 65, is known as a hobnobbing California Democratic donor with deep ties to West Hollywood, especially mayor John Duran, donating over $10,000 to his campaigns over the years. Buck was also found to have donated to nearly every member of West Hollywood’s city council and the Los Angeles district attorney.
On Monday, a 55-year-old man was found dead in Buck’s West Hollywood apartment. In 2017, Gemmel Moore, 26, was also discovered dead in Buck’s apartment. He was said to have died of a methamphetamine overdose.
Activists say Buck avoided prosecution in 2017 because he was politically connected, and renewed outrage has sprung up around the two incidents. Monday evening, a rally calling for his arrest occurred outside of Buck’s apartment, reports thisisinsider.
Details of the identity of the deceased 55-year-old black man have not yet been released, and the Homicide Bureau says they are investigating the cause of death.
Buck has reportedly not been charged in connection to the incident and remains a free man.
“When I get there, I always want my money up front, and that’s how it always started,” Damar Love, friend of Gemmel Moore, told WEHO TIMES in 2017 of his encounters with Buck:
“Initially, when I got there I understood that he was already well under the influence because he told me he had already been up for two days and was still doing drugs as far as liquid GHB, shooting meth—crystal meth, and smoking it. When he insisted that I get high and continue to get high, that’s when I started to do my research on him.” source
Buck reportedly came out as a gay man at the age of 16. He changed his name from Edward Buckmelter to Edward Buck in 1981 or 1983, according to records.
A GoFundMe for Moore has raised over $7,000 since July 2017.
Developing.