How Matthew Perry death suspects took advantage of recovering drug addict, prosecutors say.
Now, five people are charged in connection with Perry’s death.
Perry, who played Chandler Bing on “Friends,” died last October at the age of 54. His body was found floating facedown in a freestanding jacuzzi at his home in Pacific Palisades. He died from “acute ketamine effects” and subsequent drowning, according to an autopsy report.
Perry had detailed his decades-long struggles with drug addiction in his memoir from 2022, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.” He wrote that he began abusing prescription drugs after being involved in a jet ski accident on the set of the movie “Fools Rush In” in 1997 and was prescribed Vicodin.
Investigators believe Perry “relapsed into addiction” last fall, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in unveiling the charges Thursday.
And a network of people “cared more about profiting from Mr. Perry than caring about his well-being,” Estrada said.
‘How much will this idiot pay?’
Two doctors — Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez — worked to supply Perry with ketamine, Estrada said.
“Defendant Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit from Mr. Perry,” Estrada said. “He wrote in a September 2023 text message, ‘I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay.’ He also stated in text messages that he wanted to be Mr. Perry’s sole source of supply.”
From September to October 2023, Perry received “about 20 vials of ketamine” that cost him about $55,000, Estrada said.
Defendant Jasveen Sangha, who authorities called the “ketamine queen” of North Hollywood, operated what amounted to “a drug emporium” out of his home, Estrada said.
Another defendant, Eric Fleming, said he obtained ketamine from Sangha and distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, prosecutors said.
And Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, injected the actor with ketamine despite having no medical training, Estrada said.
During the last week of Perry’s life, Iwamasa administered at least 21 injections of ketamine, according to an indictment. Authorities said Iwamasa “performed multiple injections on Perry on October 28, 2023 – the day Perry died.”
Defendants plead guilty to charges
Plasencia has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of tampering with or falsifying documents or records relating to the federal investigation. His attorney told the CNN affiliata KCAL/KCBS that there was no evidence to support the charges against the doctor.
“Mr. Perry was on ketamine. Medically supervised, medically prescribed. And while the U.S. Attorney may disagree with Dr. Plasencia’s medical judgment, there was nothing criminal at the time,” attorney Stefan Sacks told the affiliate. “More importantly, the ketamine that led to Mr. Perry’s death was not tied to Dr. Plasencia.” CNN has reached out to Plasencia’s attorney for comment.
Chavez, the other doctor charged, “agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine,” prosecutors said. CNN has reached out to Chavez’s attorney for comment.
Sangha, the alleged “ketamine queen,” has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved place, one count of possession with