5 people charged in Matthew Perry’s ketamine death, including his personal assistant, 2 doctors
Five people are facing federal charges in connection to Matthew Perry’s death from “acute effects of ketamine.”
Authorities arrested the individuals, who included two doctors and the actor’s personal assistant, during a Thursday morning operation, law enforcement officials confirmed during a press conference Thursday.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his wellbeing,” US Attorney Martin Estrada said during the press conference.
According to the indictment obtained by the New York Times, Jasveen Sangha, whom prosecutors claim is called “the Ketamine Queen,” and a physician at an urgent care center, Salvador Plasencia, were among those arrested.
They have been charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine, distribution of ketamine resulting in death, possession with intent to distribute, as well as altering and falsifying records.
Three people, including Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, another doctor, Mark Chavez, and friend Erik Fleming have already pleaded guilty in the case.
According to NYT, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and admitted to injecting Perry with ketamine on the day he died.
Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine after admitting to selling ketamine to Plasencia.
Fleming pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Per NYT, Fleming admitted he obtained ketamine from Sangha and distributed 50 vials to Iwamasa in the days leading up to Perry’s death.
Page Six reported Thursday morning that multiple arrests, including one doctor, had been made after numerous search warrants by various agencies were executed.
Authorities seized computers, phones and other electronic devices that ultimately revealed messages about the late “Friends” star’s desire to purchase ketamine illegally — as well as how much he’d pay.
Perry died on Oct. 28 at age 54 after taking ketamine that caused him to lose consciousness in his hot tub.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said in an autopsy report released in December that the “Fools Rush In” star had died from the “acute effects of ketamine.” He had been discovered “floating face down” in his pool at his Malibu, Calif., compound.
Perry, who became famous for his beloved character Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom, had been going for ketamine infusion therapy at the time of his passing; however, his last session had been more than a week before he died, indicating to authorities the ketamine he ingested hadn’t been medically supervised.
According to Pacific Neuroscience Institute, “Ketamine therapy is used to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, end-of-life distress, chronic pain, drug/alcohol problems, and more.”
The autopsy further noted that the level of ketamine found in the “Whole Nine Yards” star’s blood was equivalent to the amount that would be used during general anesthesia.
The medical examiner also shared that drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, which is used to treat drug addiction and for pain, had contributed to his death.
Perry had been candid in his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” about his brutal battle with substance abuse.
“Not only do I have the disease, but I also have it bad,” he wrote. “I have it as bad as you can have it, in fact. It’s back-to-the-wall time all the time. It’s going to kill me …”
