More information about the death of Timothy Dean, the second man found dead in the West Hollywood apartment of Ed Buck, was included in a coroner’s office report released on March 29.

The report indicated that no one called 911 for 15 minutes after Dean was found unconscious on Jan. 7 in Buck’s apartment in the 1200 block of Laurel Avenue. Buck and Dean were the only people in the apartment. The coroner’s office report does not name Buck, and only identifies the other person in the apartment as a “witness” who “relayed” that “he attempted CPR for 15 minutes before contacting 911.”

The coroner’s office ruled Dean’s death accidental and listed the cause as a methamphetamine overdose, with contributing factors including alcohol intoxication and heart disease. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released a brief statement after the coroner’s office report was made public indicating the matter is still under investigation.

Buck’s attorney Seymour Amster disputed the coroner’s office report’s determination that 911 was called 15 minutes after Dean was found unresponsive. Amster said Buck had taken a shower and found Dean unresponsive when he came out. Buck called 911 and began CPR, Amster added. The coroner’s report states that Buck began CPR and then called 911 after 15 minutes, but that was not corroborated by anything other than a statement that the witness “relayed” that information, including to whom it was relayed.

“It’s not what happened. There was not a 15-minute wait,” Amster said. “We believe the report is wrong.”

A statement via email from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Nicole Nishida appears to also contradict the coroner’s office report about the 15 minutes.

“I checked with Homicide [Bureau] and all the reports reflect 911 was called and Mr. Buck was then instructed in how to perform CPR by a dispatcher,” Nishida said.

No further statement from the department administration was available. The investigation is being handled by the sheriff’s department Homicide Bureau, as opposed to West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station personnel.

The coroner’s report states that drug paraphernalia was found in Buck’s apartment, including a pipe with traces of methamphetamine. The paraphernalia was collected as evidence.

Amster said Dean was allegedly acting strangely shortly after he arrived at Buck’s apartment and Buck claimed Dean ingested drugs before he arrived. He described the two men as longtime friends, and Buck reluctantly allowed Dean to come over on the evening he died.

Dean is the second man to die in Buck’s apartment of a methamphetamine overdose in the last two years. In 2017, 26-year-old Gemmel Moore died there of what the coroner’s office also ruled an accidental drug overdose. Drug paraphernalia was found in the apartment when Moore’s body was found and collected as evidence. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to charge Buck because of insufficient evidence he supplied the drugs to Moore. The coroner’s  report on Dean’s death also stated there was no evidence anyone supplied or injected drugs into his body.

Attorneys for Moore’s family allege that Buck preys on young black men and provides them drugs. Buck is white, while Dean and Moore were black.

Moore’s family filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit in March against Buck, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey and Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum. The lawsuit claims Buck provided drugs to Moore, resulting in his death. Lacey and Hum were named in the lawsuit because of their alleged failure to prosecute Buck.

Amster said the coroner’s report about Dean’s death proves there was no foul play involved.

“I think it exonerates Mr. Buck,” Amster said.

Capt. Ed Ramirez, who assumed command of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station toward the end of March, addressed the West Hollywood City Council at its meeting on April 1.

“I recently met with the Homicide [Bureau] captain and the Homicide [Bureau] lieutenant in charge of the investigation, and because this case is ongoing, I am only at liberty to discuss very few things,” Ramirez said. “Homicide detectives are currently investigating this case, they are wrapping up their interviews with witnesses and they will shortly present their case to the district attorney’s office. I fully understand the frustrations of many but I am going to respectfully and publicly ask that we as a community collectively respect the investigative process as the case works its way through the judicial system.”

Ramirez added, however, that in light of the two deaths, a new protocol was implemented at the station that detectives there will be assigned to review all overdose deaths in the city if they are not investigated by the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. When someone dies of a suspected drug overdose, the coroner’s office typically handles the investigation because the cause of death is presumed to already be known. The extra level of review by sheriff’s station detectives is intended to definitively “rule out any foul play,” Ramirez added.