Five arrests have been made in connection with Friend star Matthew Perry died from acute side effects of ketamine last October. According to The New York Times, Perry’s personal assistant, two doctors and two other individuals were indicted and charged.
Perry died on October 28, 2023, after being found floating face down in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. An autopsy conducted by the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office found that Perry’s death was primarily caused by ketamine. The autopsy also found that drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine — used to treat opioid disorders — contributed to Perry’s death. He was 54.
According to documents filed in California federal court, prosecutors said Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and an acquaintance who teamed up with two doctors as well as a drug dealer to allegedly procure thousands of dollars in ketamine for Friend star. On Wednesday, a grand jury handed down a lawsuit against an urgent care doctor Salvador Plasencia, also known as “Dr. P.” and Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors say was also known as the “Ketamine Queen.” Both are accused of supplying ketamine to Perry despite knowing of his history of substance abuse. Charges include conspiracy to distribute ketamine; distribution of ketamine resulting in death; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and altering and falsifying records related to a federal investigation.
According to Time, An anonymous person familiar with the situation said Perry’s assistant, Iwamasa; an acquaintance of Perry’s, Erik Fleming; and another doctor, Mark Chavez, All were charged separately, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine, to which all three pleaded guilty.
According to the indictment, Sangha, the “Ketamine Queen,” maintained a stash house in North Hollywood where she would store, package and distribute drugs, including ketamine and methamphetamine. According to court documents, law enforcement raided Sangha’s North Hollywood home last March and seized 79 bottles of liquid ketamine and nearly 2,000 methamphetamine pills. Earlier this year, she was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. She has pleaded not guilty.
Dr. Plasencia, also known as “Dr. P,” built a personal brand as “Doctor of Health Medicine,” presenting himself online as a longevity coach, medical doctor, entrepreneur, and fitness expert. According to court documents, Plasencia allegedly conspired with his mentor, Dr. Chavez, to purchase ketamine for the purpose of selling it to Perry, referred to in court documents as “Victim MP.” Prosecutors allege that Dr. Plasencia texted Dr. Chavez to ask how much they should charge Perry, writing, “I wonder how much this idiot will pay” and “Let’s find out.”
In the weeks before his death, Perry had been given ketamine. But the autopsy report determined that the ketamine found in his system the night of his death could not have come from his last documented therapy session, which took place about a week and a half before his death. In his indictment, Dr. Plasencia is accused of lying to officials about Perry’s ketamine treatment, allegedly providing officials with “a forged document purporting to represent a medical treatment plan for Victim MP” that stated Perry had been given a maximum dose of 60 milligrams in 24 hours. According to the indictment, Plasencia knowingly “injected Victim MP with doses of ketamine far in excess of 60 milligrams.”
According to the indictment, Dr. Plasencia allegedly sold “thousands of dollars” of ketamine to Perry’s assistant, Iwamasa, and personally injected Perry with the drug at his home in Los Angeles and inside a car in a public parking lot in Long Beach, California. During one of those sessions, a particularly large dose of ketamine caused Perry to “freeze” involuntarily, according to court documents, prompting Dr. Plasencia to warn of similar-sized injections in the future. Fleming allegedly purchased 25 vials of ketamine on October 24 from Sangha and gave them to Iwamasa. According to court documents, Iwamasa allegedly injected Perry with at least 27 ketamine injections over five days, leading to Perry’s death on October 28.
According to court documents, on the day of Perry’s death, Sangha updated her Signal messaging app to automatically delete her messages with Fleming and allegedly instructed Fleming to “delete all our messages.” According to the same documents, two days after Perry’s death, Fleming sent the following message to Sangha: “Please call . . . Have more information and would like to discuss ideas with you. I am 90% sure everyone is protected. I have never dealt with [Victim M.P.]. Only his Assistant. So Assistant is the facilitator. They are also doing a 3 month toxic screening… Does K stay in your system or will it be eliminated immediately[?]“
Perry has a well-documented history of drug addiction and substance abuse. In his 2022 memoir, Friends, lovers and the great terror, Perry has opened up about his struggles, revealing that the disease has seen him in rehab 15 times, in rehab 65 times and had 14 surgeries due to his drug abuse. “I’ve probably spent $9 million or more trying to get clean,” he said. The New York Times.
