Man found dead inside Democratic donor Ed Buck's West Hollywood apartment ID'd by friends

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Friends identified a man Wednesday who was found dead inside the West Hollywood apartment of political activist and Democratic donor Ed Buck.

He was identified as Timothy Dean, 55, of West Hollywood.

Dean's roommate, Ottavio Taddei, just learned of Dean's death upon arriving back home from Italy.

"I don't really know what to tell you. He was a wonderful person. He's always been super nice to me," Taddei said.

A friend from the neighborhood was in tears upon hearing the news and described Dean as "the nicest, kindest man."

Dean is the second person to end up dead inside Buck's apartment in less than a year and a half. In July 2017, 26-year-old Gemmel Moore overdosed on methamphetamine.

A homicide investigation was conducted and Buck was never charged.

On Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles, a Black Lives Matter protest was held outside District Attorney Jackie Lacey's office. Moore's godbrother said Buck preys on black men who are usually young and vulnerable. He is urging Lacey to file charges against Buck.

"Ed Buck is a danger to society, not just because of what he's doing to black men, but what he's exposing our community to in general. He's exposing our community to being hooked on crystal meth and other drugs," Jerome Kitchen said.

A cause of death has not been released for Dean, but law enforcement are conducting another investigation that stems from Buck's apartment.

"I lived with him and he never did drugs. I've never seen him on drugs - ever," Taddei said.

Buck has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He's also donated to local Congressman Ted Lieu.

Lieu announced earlier this week that he plans to donate the more than $18,000 he's received from Buck to civil rights charities.