A federal jury in Los Angeles has ordered former political donor Ed Buck to pay $2 million to the mother of Gemmel Moore, a 26-year-old Black gay man who died in Buck’s West Hollywood apartment in 2017.
The unanimous verdict found Buck civilly liable for Moore’s death in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Moore’s mother, LaTisha Nixon. Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before returning the decision, according to reports from NBC Los Angeles.
Moore died of a methamphetamine overdose after Buck supplied drugs that ultimately led to his death, evidence presented during the case showed. His death became the first of two fatal overdoses connected to Buck’s apartment, a location that prosecutors later said had become a site where vulnerable men were lured with drugs and promises of money.
Buck was convicted in federal court in 2021 on nine felony counts, including distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death and maintaining a drug-involved premises. The charges stemmed from the deaths of Moore and another man, Timothy Dean, who died in Buck’s apartment in 2019 under similar circumstances. Buck is currently serving a 30-year federal prison sentence.
Moore’s death sparked widespread outrage and protests in Los Angeles, particularly among LGBTQ+ activists and racial justice advocates who argued that authorities were slow to act despite repeated warnings about Buck.
Moore had reportedly met Buck through online platforms before going to his apartment. Court records later revealed messages and diary entries suggesting Buck had encouraged drug use and paid men to participate in drug-fueled encounters.
Outside the courtroom after the civil verdict, Nixon said the decision offered a measure of closure after years of grief.
“I miss my son every single day,” Nixon said. “There isn’t a moment that goes by that I don’t think about him. This verdict doesn’t bring him back, but it gives me some peace knowing someone was finally held accountable.”
Buck, once a prominent Democratic donor and political activist, had contributed thousands of dollars to political campaigns and causes before his arrest. For years, activists accused authorities of failing to investigate aggressively after Moore’s death, pointing to allegations that young Black men were being targeted and exploited.
Advocacy groups argued the case exposed serious vulnerabilities faced by young Black gay men, particularly those dealing with housing insecurity, addiction, or financial hardship. Demonstrations demanding Buck’s arrest became a regular sight outside his West Hollywood apartment before charges were eventually filed in 2019.
The civil verdict does not affect Buck’s criminal sentence but represents another legal acknowledgment of responsibility in Moore’s death.
For Nixon and supporters who spent years pushing for accountability, the decision represents a significant moment in a case that became a national conversation about exploitation, race, and justice within the LGBTQ+ community.
While the verdict cannot undo the loss, Nixon said it affirms what her family has long believed: that her son’s death deserved to be taken seriously.
“This is for Gemmel,” she said. “And for every family that has had to fight just to be heard.”
