A prosecutor in Ed Buck’s federal trial said it was a tremendous honor to be able to vindicate the rights of Buck’s victims.
Former political donor Buck, who is white, was convicted Tuesday on federal charges, including distribution of meth resulting in the deaths of Gemmel Moore in July 2017 and Timothy Dean in January 2019.
Prosecutors argued Buck had a "fetish" for injecting meth into men "until they became comatose."
Both charges carry 20-year mandatory minimum sentences in prison.
Those who knew Moore and Dean, two Black who died of meth overdoses at Buck’s West Hollywood apartment erupted in cheers when Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Lindsay Bailey and Chelsea Norell walked outside the federal courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles.
The jury reached its verdict in less than five hours.
“It’s hard to read the tea leaves anytime you get a verdict. I think that they thoughtfully considered the evidence,” said Norell.
“We had an overwhelming amount of evidence in this case. Once [the jury] started looking at it, the verdict was clear.”
Norell also commended the work of their law enforcement partners in the Sheriff’s Department, FBI and DEA for putting together a “tremendous” case.
Buck donated over $500,000 to Democratic politicians and once ran for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council.