Prominent Democrat donor Ed Buck has been convicted of charges connected to the supply of fatal methamphetamine doses to two men at his West Hollywood apartment, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A federal jury found him guilty of all nine felony counts over the deaths, as prosecutors made the case of "an older white man using his power and money to exploit the poverty and drug addiction" of younger, gay Black men.
Buck, 66, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison with a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to CNN.
The Justice Department said in a statement that "Buck exerted power and control over his victims, typically targeting individuals who were destitute, homeless or struggling with drug addiction."
The statement added that "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."
Prosecutors said he solicited his victims in different ways, including using social media platforms, dating and escort websites, or through referrals from his prior victims, including individuals he hired to do other work for him.
Latisha Nixon, said Tuesday was bittersweet because her son, Gemmel, died four years ago on July 27, CBS Los Angeles reported.
Joyce Jackson, sister of the other man who died at the hands of Buck in 2019, Timothy Dean, thanked her supporters, saying "Finally, Ed Buck will never harm anyone else, and I thank God for that."
The deaths of the two Black men were originally determined to be accidental, but numerous LGBTQ and civil rights groups urged police to probe allegations that Buck had a patern of luring gay black men to his apartment to inject them with crystal meth for sexual gratification, Axios reported.
One of the prosecutors, Chelsea Norrell, had tears in her eyes as she told reporters that “it was a tremendous honor to be able to vindicate the rights of the victims in this case and Lindsey and I are absolutely thrilled that justice was served today in a sweeping guilty verdict,” CBS Los Angeles reported.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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