FRIENDS star Matthew Perry began buying drugs from a suspected drug dealer nicknamed “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles” before his death, according to reports.
Five people were arrested on Thursday in connection with the fatal accidental overdose of Perry, who was found dead in the hot tub of his home in Los Angeles on October 28, 2023.
Perry, 54, turned to the accused drug peddler, Jasveen Sangha after the ketamine he was purchasing from doctors got too expensive.
Sangha, who lives in North Hollywood, sold ketamine and other drugs and provided Perry’s assistant with the dose that ultimately led to his death, according to an 18-count indictment, according to a press release.
She was first arrested in March, in connection with a separate federal drug case but was released from custody after posting a bond of $100,000, court records revealed.
At the time the death was ruled an accidental overdose, but in May, the Los Angeles Police Department announced it was working with federal authorities to investigate the source of the ketamine Perry had taken.
In a press conference on Thursday, US attorney Martin Estrada said a Department of Justice investigation had revealed a “broad underground criminal network,” including Perry’s assistant and doctors, who conspired to take “advantage of the sitcom star’s addictions by selling him ketamine.
In a message from one of the defendants, they spoke mockingly of Perry and the ketamine they were selling him, writing: “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, injected the actor with ketamine on the day he died, according to the indictment.
Eric Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez have also been charged with distributing ketamine.
Five charged in Matthew Perry’s death
On August 15, prosecutors announced a slew of charges stemming from the tragic overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry.
Here are the five individuals allegedly behind Perry’s ketamine crisis.
- “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles” Jasveen Sangha – Sangha is a 41-year-old drug dealer who allegedly sold the drug that killed Perry, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors say she previously sold ketamine to another victim hours before he died in 2019. After hearing of his death, she allegedly searched “can ketamine be listed as a cause of death,” on Google, prosecutors allege. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of all charges.
- “Dr. P” Dr. Salvador Plasencia – Plasencia allegedly learned that Perry was seeking ketamine, and obtained doses knowing they would be improperly used. Speaking to a dealer over text, he allegedly said, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.” Plasencia taught non-medical people associated with Perry how to inject ketamine, and even injected it himself at times, prosecutors say. Perry’s assistant, who was taught by Plasencia, administered the fatal dose on October 28, 2023. Plasencia is facing nine charges stemming from the death.
- Kenneth Iwamasa – Iwamasa, 59, was Perry’s live-in assistant who was allegedly taught how to inject ketamine by Dr. Plasencia, according to prosecutors. He admitted to injecting Perry multiple times on the day of his death in a guilty plea.
- Eric Fleming – Fleming, 54, helped to coordinate drug sales to Sangha before they ultimately made it to Perry. He corresponded with Iwamasa when ketamine was on its way to their home. Fleming admitted to distributing 50 vials of ketamine to Iwamasa, half of them four days before Perry’s death.
- Dr. Mark Chavez – Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to Dr. Plasencia by writing fraudulent prescriptions. He also coordinated with Iwamasa to get the drugs to Perry. Between September and October 2023, Plasencia, Chavez, and Iwamasa allegedly distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to Perry for $55,000 in cash.
That syringe was provided by Salvador Plasencia, a doctor who had supplied the drug to Perry and Iwamasa in the past.
Perry had a long history of struggles with drug and alcohol addiction and had written extensively about it in his memoir.
He had been sober for over a year and a half before his death, according to a medical examiner.
Before his death, he had reportedly been undergoing ketamine therapy to treat depression and anxiety.
The medical examiner’s toxicology report at the time found that the levels of ketamine in his bloodstream could have heightened the risk of “cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”
Perry’s family has welcomed the news.
“We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously,” the family said in a statement. “We look forward to justice taking its course.”
Perry shot to household fame in the 1990s as Chandler Bing in the globally-successful sitcom Friends.
By the time the finale aired in 2004, the main cast members, including Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer, were each earning around $1 million an episode.
But behind the scenes, Perry was struggling with opioid addiction and alcoholism, which he wrote about in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
Investigation into Matthew Perry’s death
The U.S. Sun previously reported that authorities probing Matthew Perry’s death will look to the death investigations of rapper Mac Miller and Michael Jackson when considering criminal charges.
- Perry’s autopsy revealed he had died from the acute effects of ketamine and drowning.
- Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression.
- He was found to have similar levels of the drug in his system as a hospital patient under general anesthetic.
- His last drug therapy session was more than a week before he was discovered dead.
Criminal Investigation
- A criminal investigation was launched by the LAPD in December to determine how Perry obtained the drugs.
- The investigation is ongoing.
- Those targeted by investigators could include doctors who may have written Perry an under-the-table prescription.
- It also includes drug dealers, friends, or associates who facilitated any illicit transaction.
Tre Lovell, a veteran entertainment attorney
- Lovell spoke to The U.S. Sun and likened the Perry probe to the investigations into the drug deaths of Michael Jackson and Mac Miller.
- He warned there could be significant prison time for anyone found culpable in the actor’s death.
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