Two doctors and Matthew Perry’s live-in assistant have been arrested and charged, as have two drug dealers, in connection with the actor’s sudden death last year.
The 54-year-old “Friends” star was found dead in his hot tub last October from “the acute effects of ketamine,” the source of which feds had been investigating since determining the drug had not been legally prescribed.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 42, known as “Dr. P,” and 41-year-old Jasveen Sangha, better known as “The Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles,” were each charged Thursday with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine during Perry’s final weeks, said the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California.
Sangha was also charged with numerous other drug-related offenses, including maintaining a drug-involved premises. According to authorities, Sangha — who’s known to have dealt drugs from her North Hollywood stash house since at least 2019 — sold Perry the ketamine on Oct. 24, leading to his death just four days later.
A federal source told ABC News earlier on Thursday that the so-called “Ketamine Queen” became Perry’s source for the drug after Plasencia’s offerings became too pricey. The doctor allegedly purchased vials of ketamine for $12 each from another physician, but sold them to Perry for $2,000 a piece on multiple occasions in September and October.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia at one point texted his source, according to the feds.
Along with the conspiracy charge, Plasencia has also been hit with seven counts of distribution of ketamine as well as two counts of falsifying medical records related to the probe into Perry’s death. He allegedly attempted to deceive investigators into believing he had a “legitimate treatment plan” in place for the actor.
If convicted, Plasencia faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each ketamine count and up to 20 years for each count related to the falsification of documents.
Sangha faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison and up to a life sentence if convicted on all the charges against her.
“These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, noting authorities intend to “send a clear message that we will hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths they cause.”
Perry’s assistant, 59-year-old Kenneth Iwamasa, has also been charged and took a plea deal last week, admitting to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He told authorities he repeatedly injected the actor with ketamine without medical training, and did so multiple times on the day Perry died. Iwamasa is believed to be the person who found Perry unresponsive in the hot tub and called 911.
He faces up to 15 years in prison upon sentencing.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, has similarly agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Chavez admitted to selling Dr. Plasencia drugs that “he had diverted from his former ketamine clinic,” as well as ketamine he obtained by lying to a wholesale distributor and submitting a fraudulent prescription.
Chavez faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
A fifth defendant, Erik Fleming, also pleaded guilty last week to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution resulting in death. The drug dealer confessed to obtaining the deadly ketamine from Sangha and delivering a total of 50 vials to Iwamasa.
Fleming faces up to 25 years.
News of the arrests comes nearly three months after TMZ reported that both the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and local authorities were looking into how Perry got access to the ketamine that caused his death on Oct. 28.
Prior to his passing, Perry had been undergoing doctor-supervised ketamine infusion therapy used for the treatment of anxiety and depression. However, a toxicology report concluded the amount of ketamine found in Perry’s system could not have been from that treatment, as his last-known session had been a week and a half before his death.
Ahead of the medical examiner’s report confirming Perry’s accidental cause of death, some of his friends had feared that he’d died of an overdose, while others insisted he was sober in the months leading up to his death,
The five-time Emmy nominee was long candid about his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, writing about them openly in his 2022 memoir,“Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”
In the wake of Thursday’s charges, Perry’s family issued a statement, saying, “We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously. We look forward to justice taking its course.”
Originally Published:
