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Dane Brown, the 2019 drug overdose survivor who sparked an investigation into Democratic donor and activist Ed Buck, was found dead on a South Los Angeles sidewalk last week.
Brown’s police calls and testimony led a jury to find that she lured young black men to her West Hollywood apartment for nearly a decade for “partying and fun” that involved sex and heavy drug use. Mr. Buck was found guilty. Two men died of drug overdoses in Buck’s apartment in 2017 and 2019.
“I don’t think so. [Brown] He really knew the impact he had,” said Jasmine Cannick, a political consultant, author and friend of Brown.
Brown was found dead on a sidewalk in South Los Angeles on November 6, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. The cause of death has not yet been determined.
The men lured into Buck’s apartment, many of whom were homeless and addicted, were drugged during the encounter and often offered additional money if they would allow Buck to inject drugs. If they refused, Buck would sometimes refuse to pay.
For years, victims and advocates have tried to draw attention to the dangerous encounters at Buck’s apartment. But it wasn’t until Brown stumbled out of Buck’s apartment after being injected with methamphetamine three times and called 911 that Buck was arrested. Buck was ultimately charged and convicted of supplying drugs to Jemele Moore, 26, and Timothy Dean, 55, who died of overdoses in their homes in 2017 and 2019, respectively. I received it. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
After Buck’s conviction, Cannick said Brown got a job and found an apartment that he could show off to friends.
He insisted on taking her out to dinner at a barbecue restaurant on La Brea Street in return for helping her.
But Brown continued to struggle with mental health and drug addiction, she said. He lost his apartment and sometimes went missing.
“He tried, he tried very hard,” she said. “Ultimately, it was a bigger struggle than he could handle.”
Cannick said Brown was found dead near Vernon and McKinley streets, across the street from the apartment where he lived for a time.
Buck’s two-week trial exposed the dangerous underworld of sex work, where powerful, wealthy men exploit poor, addicted black men.
“My heart is broken,” Kannick said in a video about his friend’s death. “Dane, who I came to know very well, was really struggling and trying to rebuild his life after Ed Buck’s death.”
Cannick said Brown loved cooking and gaming and described himself as a nerd.
“When the cameras were gone, he was just a black man trying to make it in Los Angeles. That’s not easy, especially in a city like Los Angeles,” she said. “I feel so sad for his family, his friends and all of us who worked with him, knew him, defended him and supported him.”
Brown’s decision to contact authorities and ultimately testify at Buck’s trial was a pivotal moment that resulted in the conviction of the Democratic donor and inspired other victims to come forward. said one of his lawyers, Nana Gyamfi.
“Dane was an important figure in this case,” she said.
Gyamfi said Brown’s survival and willingness to speak with law enforcement helped ensure this case could not be ignored. His involvement helped her persuade other victims to come forward and testify.
“It was his escape. He was the one who literally untied the ribbon, so to speak,” she said. “It was his escape and he contacted the police that he could not ignore it.”
Brown also filed a lawsuit against Buck alleging sexual assault, assault, hate violence, emotional distress and human trafficking. The case was scheduled to go to trial in February.
Since Buck’s arrest, Brown had been regularly homeless and suffered from disabling medical conditions, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges that Buck caused Brown to overdose on two methamphetamines in one week in September 2019, including one that ultimately led to Buck’s arrest.
Mr. Brown lived with Mr. Buck for three months, and Mr. Buck “supplied Mr. Brown with methamphetamine and injected it intravenously on a daily basis,” the complaint alleges.
Brown’s attorneys intend to continue their lawsuit against Buck and are working on appointing a representative to continue the case, court records show.
Gyamfi and Cannick said they lost contact with Brown around August. He kept in touch with me often by phone and text, but he stopped texting me for a while.
Gyamfi said Brown’s death was especially difficult because he showed her how to better yourself and fight tenaciously to survive, sometimes under the most dire of circumstances.
“He fought for his life and this is how this incident broke out,” she said. “He escaped death, but died probably alone on the sidewalk, one of six people who die every day in the city of Los Angeles without shelter. He had a desire to live. Ta.”
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