LOS ANGELES – Ed Buck is being taken in to federal custody this afternoon after being charged in United States District Court with providing methamphetamine to a man who died after receiving the drug intravenously.
Edward Buck, 65, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court later this afternoon. Buck was named in a federal criminal complaint filed last night that charges him with one count of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death.
The complaint alleges that Buck provided methamphetamine that directly resulted in the overdose death of 26-year-old Gemmel Moore, who died in Buck’s apartment on July 27, 2017.
The criminal complaint further alleges that another man died in Buck’s apartment from a drug overdose earlier this year, and that Buck provided narcotics to a series of other men, one of whom suffered two overdoses several weeks ago.
A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.
If convicted of the drug distribution offense alleged in the complaint, Buck would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life without parole.
Buck also faces charges, including operating a drug house, that were filed earlier this week by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The federal matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and is being conducted with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brittney M. Harris and Chelsea C. Norell of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section.