Ed Buck finally faces criminal charges in the federal courts that squarely hold him criminally responsible for the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean and for the harm he has inflicted upon several other Black gay men. While their families, friends, and community are very pleased with the federal prosecutor's decision to bring these charges against Buck, the filing of these federal criminal charges in no way absolves Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey of her poorly conducted investigation and prosecution of Ed Buck.
We fully expect Jackie Lacey to expand the State’s criminal complaint against Ed Buck by adding two counts of 1st-degree felony murder. Lacey charged Ed Buck with furnishing drugs and operating a drug den. Both furnishing drugs and operating a drug den are felony offenses in California. Both Moore and Dean died inside of Buck’s drug den when Buck furnished drugs to them. Both deaths were the reasonably foreseeable result of Ed Buck's felonious conduct. All of the elements of felony murder under California law are met in this case, and Lacey has an obligation to amend her felony complaint against Buck to include felony murder counts for the deaths of Moore and Dean. Lacey also has an obligation to amend her felony complaint beyond Buck’s criminal acts against Moore, Dean, and Joe Doe. The affidavit filed by the Department of Justice lists at least 10 other victims against whom Buck committed a violent sex crime. Lacey’s felony complaint must vindicate all of Ed Buck’s victims accordingly.
We also fully expect Jackie Lacey to retract the false statements she made during the September 19, 2019 press conference at the Hall of Justice.
Lacey falsely claimed that her team worked diligently and carefully to find and speak with witnesses over the course of the last two years. This is untrue. Our team of activists had to personally escort witnesses to the LASD’s office and pressure them into recording our witnesses’ statements. We later discovered, in May of 2019, that Lacey was not even aware that these reports existed. Lacey falsely claimed we presented witnesses whose statements were comprised entirely of hearsay. This is also untrue. Each and every one of the witnesses we presented to the County was directly and disturbingly victimized by Ed Buck. Lacey falsely claimed our witnesses lawyered up and refused to speak with her team. This too is untrue. Lacey’s team went behind our backs to surprise witnesses at their homes and speak with them in secret after we specifically instructed Lacey’s team that we wanted to be present as counsel during any interviews causing the witnesses to not want to deal with the investigators.
We look forward to Lacey’s amendment of the State’s felony complaint to her retraction of the many false statements she made at the September 19, 2019 press conference.
Nana Gyamfi, esq.
& Hussain Turk, esq.