Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press
- Democratic donor Ed Buck was convicted this week by a federal jury in the fatal overdoses of two men.
- The wealthy 66-year-old political activist was found guilty of nine felonies.
- Both victims suffered fatal methamphetamine overdoses at Buck's West Hollywood apartment.
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California Democratic donor Ed Buck was convicted this week by a federal jury on charges that he injected two men with methamphetamine, resulting in fatal overdoses.
The wealthy 66-year-old political activist was found guilty of nine felonies on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice. Buck faces a sentence of 20 years to life in federal prison.
The jury found that Buck caused the overdose deaths of two men – 26-year-old Gemmel Moore on July 27, 2017, and Timothy Dean, 55, on January 7, 2019.
Both victims died at Buck's West Hollywood apartment.
According to the Justice Department, Buck engaged in a "party and play" pattern from 2011 through September 2019 in which he solicited men to take drugs that he provided in exchange for sexual acts.
"Buck exerted power and control over his victims, typically targeting individuals who were destitute, homeless or struggling with drug addiction," the Justice Department said. "He exploited the wealth and power balance between them by offering his victims money to use drugs and to let Buck inject them with narcotics."
The Justice Department added, "Once the men were at his apartment, Buck prepared syringes containing methamphetamine, sometimes personally injecting the victims with or without their consent."
"Buck also injected victims with more narcotics than they expected and sometimes injected victims while they were unconscious," the department said.
Buck remains in federal custody. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.