Timothy Dean’s body was found in January 2019 in the West Hollywood apartment of Ed Buck. Dean died from a meth overdose. Dean was the second gay black man who died of a meth overdose in Buck’s residence. Gemmel Moore was the first person who died of a meth overdose. Ed Buck’s federal case in the death of Dean and Moore has been delayed until Aug. 2020. Photo: Facebook.
Ed Buck’s federal case involving the drug overdose deaths of two men in his West Hollywood apartment has been continued to next year, and Buck will remain behind bars until the trial begins.
Buck, 63, was charged in October with distributing methamphetamine resulting in the deaths of Timothy Dean, 50, in January and Gemmel Moore, 26, in 2017. A federal grand jury indicted Buck in Dean’s overdose death after he was charged in Moore’s death.
Ed Buck federal case
Federal prosecutors have said that Buck preyed on vulnerable gay black men and pressured them to let him inject them with drugs as part of a sexual ritual.
Buck is also charged with providing meth to three more men, including one who overdosed, but survived and alerted law enforcement officials to Buck’s behavior, federal prosecutors have said.
If convicted, Buck would face more than 20 years in federal prison.
Buck has entered a plea of not guilty.
Buck also faces state charges of running a drug den in his West Hollywood apartment, but the federal case will proceed first. If convicted as charged in the state case, Buck faces a possible maximum sentence of five years and eight months in state prison.
Case delayed
U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder agreed earlier this week to delay Buck’s hearing, which was scheduled for late November, to Aug. 4, 2020. A July 13, 2020, status conference also was scheduled, according to court documents.
United States Attorney Nicola Hanna and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittney M. Harris made the request for the delays, according to the documents.
In granting the motion, Snyder said that “the case is so unusual and so complex, due to the nature of the prosecution and the voluminous discovery, that it is unreasonable to expect preparation for pre-trial proceedings or for the trial itself within the time limits established by the Speedy Trial Act,” according to court documents.
No bail for Ed Buck
Snyder also ordered Buck to remain incarcerated in federal custody without bail.
She also ordered federal prosecutors to give Buck’s defense team unredacted evidence and witness statements, law enforcement agency reports, and other investigative work product. However, that material will not be available to the media or the public, according to court documents.
