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UPDATE, Thursday, Aug. 15, at 3:25 p.m.:
Five arrests have now been made in the drug investigation surrounding the death of Matthew Perry. Among those charged this week are the Friends star’s personal assistant and two physicians, all implicated in causing his accidental overdose.
The suspects allegedly exploited Perry’s well-known struggles with drug addiction, which he had been transparent about in hopes of helping others, including in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
“The defendants in this case knew what they were doing was wrong,” said Martin Estrada, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, at a news conference held by the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Los Angeles Police Department.
Three of the defendants have already pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in connection with Perry’s death, while two others— including a woman known as “The Ketamine Queen,” accused of selling Perry the batch of ketamine that killed him—were arrested on Thursday, according to the Department of Justice.
The suspects include physicians Salvador Plascencia and Mark Chavez, accused drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, Perry’s live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of the actor. All five have been charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine and face maximum sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison.
Over a two-month period in the fall of 2023, the group allegedly distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to Perry in exchange for $55,000 in cash. Plascencia reportedly mocked Perry in a text message, writing, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Plascencia is accused of distributing the ketamine to Perry and his assistant, Iwamasa, “without a legitimate medical purpose,” according to a DOJ news release. He allegedly taught Iwamasa how to inject Perry with the drug. Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression, but the ketamine found in his system at the time of his death was not prescribed and was at levels typically used for general anesthesia, raising suspicions.
Plascencia faces a maximum sentence of 120 years in federal prison, while Iwamasa could face up to 15 years if found guilty.
“Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, and it ended with street dealers who sold him ketamine in unmarked vials,” said DEA administrator Anne Milgram at the press conference. “The desperation that led Perry to these individuals was not met with help, as it should have been from the doctors, but instead was met with exploitation.”
Chavez faces up to 10 years in federal prison, Fleming could receive up to 25 years, and Sangha, with a history of drug trafficking, faces the harshest penalty—a maximum life sentence.
According to the DOJ, authorities discovered “79 vials of ketamine, approximately three pounds of orange pills containing methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine, and prescription drugs” at Sangha’s residence following Perry’s death.
Original story continues below:
Sources revealed that several agencies, including the DEA, U.S. Postal Service, and LAPD, executed search warrants, seizing electronic devices to trace the source of the ketamine that led to Matthew Perry’s death. Following their investigation, authorities in Los Angeles have made an arrest.
NBC News reported on Thursday morning that a person in Southern California was arrested in connection with Perry’s accidental overdose. The name of the individual, along with other details, will be released at a news conference in Los Angeles later today, Aug. 15.
On October 28, the beloved actor was found by an assistant face down in his hot tub, and paramedics who were called immediately declared him dead. He was 54.
In May, the Los Angeles Police Department mentioned that they, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Service, would begin examining possible causes of Perry’s sudden death.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office stated in an autopsy report released in December that the Friends star had died of “acute effects of ketamine.” The medical examiner’s office also noted that drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine, which is used to treat drug addiction and pain, had contributed to his death.
Perry had a history of drug and alcohol addiction, which he wrote about in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
“I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side again,” Perry told PEOPLE for a 2022 cover story. “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober—and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction—to write it all down. I was pretty certain that it would help people if I did.”
Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression, but the ketamine found in his system at the time of his death was not prescribed and was at levels used for general anesthesia. According to the medical examiner’s report, the actor’s most recent session had been a week and a half prior to his death.
The investigation uncovered text messages detailing the illegal acquisition of ketamine, including discussions about the price Perry would pay. Authorities have arrested several dealers and one doctor involved in supplying the drug.
