LaTisha Nixon is still mourning the death of her son Gemmel Moore, who will be forever 26, the age he died in the home of longtime Democratic donor Ed Buck. But, she said she is really happy that he can’t hurt anybody else. Buck was arrested on September 17 and charged with three counts of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He is accused of injecting a 37-year-old man, who overdosed but survived, with methamphetamine on September 11.
On September 19, a federal charge of “one count of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death” was added to Buck ‘s indictments by the United States for Moore who died on July 27, 2017.
“He’s going to be locked up, he’s been charged, he’s been evicted … he’s basically getting all of the bad Karma he put out.”
Two men, including Moore, died of drug overdoses in Buck’s apartment before his arrest last month. Moore’s family, along with community activist Jasmyne Cannick and others, have been fighting for two years for Buck’s arrest. They have been highly critical of District Attorney Jackie Lacey for failing to prosecute Buck despite mounting evidence presented to her, including entries from Moore’s diary describing his experience.
According to news reports, Buck was known for luring young, drug addicted African American men to his home. There have been reports of men waking up in pain after being injected and given beverages that were spiked, according to a criminal complaint. One man said that Buck played videos of Moore for him.
“I want him to see me,” Nixon told the Sentinel before heading to Buck’s court appearance last week.
“I want him to know that I’m never going away. I want him to think about me. He killed my son.”
Nixon said she does not want the death penalty.
“Death is too easy for him,” she said.
“I don’t want him to die. I want him to live a long life, so that he can think about every single thing that he’s done and all of the people he’s hurt.”
Meanwhile, Nixon and her attorneys have filed an amendment to their wrongful death suit against Lacey and the county of Los Angeles. The amendment specifically targets Lacey and Assistant Head Deputy Attorney Craig Hum, citing the two violated Moore’s civil rights in “their race-based refusal” to prosecute Buck, even with all of the evidence presented.
In January, 55-year-old Timothy Dean was also found dead of a drug overdose in Buck’s apartment.
Buck began his career as a fashion model and actor in Europe. He also worked for a friend’s company before buying it out of bankruptcy for US$250,000. He became a millionaire upon selling it after five years.
Buck led the campaign to impeach Arizona Republican Governor Evan Mecham, known for his opposition to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, his proposal for voluntary drug testing, and his plan to reduce the state police force by up to 300 officers. He moved to West Hollywood, running unsuccessfully for city council in 2007. He formerly served on the steering committee of the Stonewall Democratic Club and has donated nearly $30,000 to Democratic candidates such as Hillary Clinton, Ted Lieu, Pete Aguilar and Raja Krishnamoorthi, as well as the Getting Things Done PAC.
In his journal, Moore wrote, “I honestly don’t know what to do. I’ve become addicted to drugs and the worst one at that,” a December entry reads.“Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of crystal meth it was very painful, but after all the troubles, I became addicted to the pain and fetish/fantasy.”
“My life is at an all-time [sic] high right now & I mean that from all ways. I ended up back at Buck [sic] house again and got manipulated [sic] into slamming again. I even went to the point where I was forced to doing 4 within a 2day [sic] period. This man is crazy and its [sic] sad. Will I ever get help?”
In addition to seeking general damages, the lawsuit also seeks an undetermined amount of punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
For more information, visit justice4gemmel.org.
