An hour before sunset on July 27, 2017, four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call from North Laurel Avenue in West Hollywood. The deputies walked through the black metal entry gate and into the open courtyard of a two-story apartment building, where an older white man in an undershirt was standing on the concrete stairs, beckoning urgently. They followed him into his living room — gray walls, a TV showing porn. A young Black man was lying unresponsive on a mattress on the floor, naked except for white socks. Three minutes later, the paramedics from Los Angeles County Fire Engine 8 raced up the stairs carrying their red plastic toolboxes, but the young man was already dead.
The tenant’s name was Edward Buck. He was white-haired with a strong jaw, 62 years old. He described the dead man as his “friend.” About two hours earlier, Buck said, his friend injected meth. A little after that, his friend became “very warm” to the touch. Buck had placed bags of ice on his friend’s skin. He went two doors down and got his neighbor, a man with medical knowledge, he said, to come over and perform CPR. Then he called 911. The deputies looked around the apartment. Buck and the neighbor stayed outside on the walkway. For a moment, Buck leaned his head on the neighbor’s back with a heaviness that suggested exhaustion. The neighbor was crying.
It was almost dark when another man walked through the gate and into the courtyard. He was young, slim and Black. He wore a cap and carried a white bag. The deputies exchanged glances. For years now, tenants at 1234 North Laurel had been calling the county sheriff to complain that young men — many of whom looked disheveled and possibly homeless — were ringing their buzzers at all hours, on their way to see Buck. Once, a tenant called to say that a man who had just left Buck’s place was masturbating on the sidewalk, yelling about syringes. So if Buck was expecting a second visitor tonight, it was not out of character. One deputy peered over the railing. “Store’s closed,” she said. The man loped out through the gate.
An investigator arrived from the county medical examiner’s office. On the floor next to the young man, he noted zip-lock bags swelled with water. A rolling tool cabinet was parked against a wall. Inside were several syringes with brown residue, a scale, lighters, a straw, a glass pipe with burn marks and a clear plastic bag containing a “crystal-like substance.” The top and bottom drawers contained sex toys. The investigator and his assistant wrapped the body in a white sheath. One grabbed the sheath near the head, the other near the feet, and they carried it down the stairs before placing it on a stretcher in the courtyard. Then they went back up to collect evidence, including the dead man’s backpack.
The tenant’s name was Edward Buck. He was white-haired with a strong jaw, 62 years old. He described the dead man as his “friend.” About two hours earlier, Buck said, his friend injected meth. A little after that, his friend became “very warm” to the touch. Buck had placed bags of ice on his friend’s skin. He went two doors down and got his neighbor, a man with medical knowledge, he said, to come over and perform CPR. Then he called 911. The deputies looked around the apartment. Buck and the neighbor stayed outside on the walkway. For a moment, Buck leaned his head on the neighbor’s back with a heaviness that suggested exhaustion. The neighbor was crying.
It was almost dark when another man walked through the gate and into the courtyard. He was young, slim and Black. He wore a cap and carried a white bag. The deputies exchanged glances. For years now, tenants at 1234 North Laurel had been calling the county sheriff to complain that young men — many of whom looked disheveled and possibly homeless — were ringing their buzzers at all hours, on their way to see Buck. Once, a tenant called to say that a man who had just left Buck’s place was masturbating on the sidewalk, yelling about syringes. So if Buck was expecting a second visitor tonight, it was not out of character. One deputy peered over the railing. “Store’s closed,” she said. The man loped out through the gate.
An investigator arrived from the county medical examiner’s office. On the floor next to the young man, he noted zip-lock bags swelled with water. A rolling tool cabinet was parked against a wall. Inside were several syringes with brown residue, a scale, lighters, a straw, a glass pipe with burn marks and a clear plastic bag containing a “crystal-like substance.” The top and bottom drawers contained sex toys. The investigator and his assistant wrapped the body in a white sheath. One grabbed the sheath near the head, the other near the feet, and they carried it down the stairs before placing it on a stretcher in the courtyard. Then they went back up to collect evidence, including the dead man’s backpack.
