The mother of Gemmel Moore, the 26-year-old who died of a drug overdose in the home of Democratic donor Ed Buck, has filed a wrongful death suit, alleging that Buck injected her son with crystal methamphetamine. The suit also alleges that Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey and Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig Hum refused to prosecute Buck because he is white.
Lawyers for LaTisha Nixon, the mother of Moore, had harsh words for law enforcement. “If the dead body of a blond-haired, blue-eyed white man was found in the home of an older black man, he’d be lucky to even make it to the police station alive,” they said in a statement.
Related: 30,000 petitioners urge Los Angeles DA to investigate Ed Buck for the deaths of 2 black gay men
Gemmel Moore died in the Los Angeles home of Ed Buck in July 2017. Another gay, black man, Timothy Dean, died in Buck’s home in January 2019. An autopsy determined that Moore died of a methamphetamine overdose. Police have yet to release Dean’s cause of death. Buck was present at the time both men died, but has not been arrested or charged with any crime.
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Nixon’s lawsuit alleges that Buck forced her son to inject methamphetamine as part of a sexual encounter. The suit also alleges that the deaths of Moore and Dean are part of a larger pattern of behavior by Buck, who preys on gay, black men for drug-fueled sex. In addition to the charges of wrongful death, battery and assault against Buck, Nixon’s lawsuit further alleges DA Jackie Lacey violated Moore’s civil rights for not prosecuting Buck. Lacey is the first black District Attorney in the history of Los Angeles County.
The office of DA Lacey has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Wicked Dickie
Queerty, why is this troll still allowed to post on the comments section? We know IT is a troll. Please clean it up.
Chrisk
I don’t blame the mom for being angry. Her son’s dead and it’s got to hurt.. However proving that buck forced her son to inject meth is going to be tough. Paying somebody to watch them get high is not forcing them.
truthseeker
If he’s supplying it to these boys then he could get charged for sales and their deaths because he’s dealing the drugs
I don’t agree with the mother’s argument that “hurr durr this is racism and a civil rights issue”
I doubt the boys brought the drugs and shot up with Buck when the one claimed he kept trying to get away. It’s clear that Buck gave him the drugs (either for free or at a discount) in exchange for sexual favors
My guess is that he’s not being charged or investigated not because he’s white but because he’s a wealthy Democratic donor
Polaro
No, Dickie, he just isn’t a bleeding heart like you. This opinion is on the cruel side, I’ll agree with that. He did not deserve to die, but adults need to own their actions. I do not believe for an instant that this mother knows her son’s sexual or drug behavior. She also does not take ownership for her obviously poor mothering. Is Buck a creep? I have no idea. The Attorney General seems to not think he is a criminal however.
PinkoOfTheGange
Still harping on the Democratic thing there? #JFS
Kangol
Well, he is a major Democratic supporter. It may be inconvenient for some, but being a rich, white Democratic Party booster in Los Angeles can’t hurt in holding the cops and law enforcement in that city and in the state at bay. Imagine if he were poor and black and two white guys died in his home; he’d have been in jail a long time ago. And if he were a right-wing Republican, on top of (rightly) being labeled a hypocrite, he’d probably have had far stronger calls to be arrested. And I say that as someone who in general supports progressive policies and politicians.
SpireaX
You speak as if you were certain Mr. Buck is blameless. I wonder why you don’t use the ignorant rhetoric to describe him. Oh, wait – trolls don’t give a shit.
LostMyClothesAgain
A wrongful death civil suit doesn’t necessarily claim that the defendant is the sole cause of death. There can be shared responsibility for the death. If the coroner’s report indicates a meth overdose in the second death, then it would appear that Ed Buck shares responsibility in maintaining an environment and taking actions that contribute to meth overdoses. The suit should then proceed.
Chrisk
This is the same as somebody getting into a car accident after visiting a bar. Who’s really responsible? They never go after the bar even though the bar was the one that fed them the alcohol.
LostMyClothesAgain
Chris, per your bar/drunk driver example, in the Ed Buck case the patron died in the bar. It would be very different if these two men died AFTER LEAVING Buck’s residence.
DCguy
Why is Queerty parroting right wing media?
You could describe Buck as a former model, a businessman, the creator of Gopher Courier, etc… But no, he cuts a few checks to Clinton and his only description is “Democratic Donor”?!?
Kangol
Because being a rich, white Democrat in Los Angeles and California very well might have helped him avoid scrutiny. As I wrote above, imagine if he were poor and black and two white guys died in his home; he’d have been in jail a long time ago. And if he were a right-wing Republican, on top of (rightly) being labeled a hypocrite, he’d probably have had far stronger calls to be arrested. And I say that as someone who in general supports progressive policies and politicians.
DCguy
A “Sex Crazed Hustler”? How do you know? Did you sleep with him?
Bob LaBlah
What if he had been rich and black and it was two white boys whom were poor and had drug and prostitution arrests on their records? Would he have been treated the same?
truthseeker
He probably would’ve been treated the same. We see it all the time with rich and black athletes who beat the shit out of their spouse, kill someone in a car crash, have stashes of drugs in their possession
I don’t think the issue is race but more of status and political influence. As Kangol said previously, if this was a Republican, more than likely he’d be arrested right now. But you notice some people earlier are crying that it’s pointed out that this man is being called a Democratic donor (he is) as if that should be ignored
Kangol
@Bob LaBlah & Truthseeker, If the two guys who died in this Buck guy’s house were white, there’d be some coverage, but it would be like that wealthy white gay guy in NYC in whose condo one white gay guy killed another and then got help from his friend to cover it up. The coverage in NY papers was muted, and I’ve barely seen a single thing about the owner of the house since. It’s like that with similar cases, though if the white man were Republican and the guys had been black, there’d perhaps be more coverage now.
But wealth + white privilege = papers usually look away, including liberal ones, unless there’s a way to get some mileage (white conservative, dead young black men, etc.) for a hot minute.
Had two white guys died in a Black gay wealthy Democrat’s house, the right-wing papers would be going on about it nonstop. They’d crucify him. The cops also would probably have done everything they could to put him behind bars. Had two black guys died in a Black gay wealthy Democrat’s or Republican’s house, only Black papers and outlets would cover it.
@HarryB
It is not the first time the blame of Ed is discussed here
Mr Slave of Leland
I don’t understand how anyone can really comment on this case without knowing the forensics and other details surrounding the case, everything being discussed is about race and who is to blame in overdose cases.
What I want to know is the forensics of the case, the mother claims alleges that Buck forced her son to inject the drug. Is there any evidence of that? Whose fingerprints if any are on the plunger, was there any sign of a struggle. If one is being forced to do something against their will, usually but not always there are signs of a struggle. We don’t know any of the forensics or witness statements made to the police, so I find it hard to seriously take anyone’s conclusion on what happened seriously, one way or the other. Unless the forensics and details from the police report are released, I can’t really comment one way or another on this case.
The DA may also not be charging Buck due to lack of evidence to properly convict the defendant or there’s no proof that Buck did any of the things the mother is alleging, it’s called prosecutorial discretion. Until more is released on the case we can’t just jump to the conclusion that racism is behind not prosecuting Buck, granted that could be the case, but I don’t know enough of the parties involved to substantiate or dismiss such an accusation. Until and unless further details are released, I can’t form an opinion on the case itself or on Buck’s involvement if any. I wish I could but I don’t have a crystal ball.