By Abigail Holliday
Staff Writer
The arrests related to the death of beloved “Friends” star Matthew Perry have finally been made public after an investigation lasting seven months.
The U.S. Attorney's Office detailed the five people who were arrested for their involvement in Perry’s passing: his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, movie director Erik Fleming and drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen.”
Plasencia had heard that Perry was in search of ketamine, a powerful anesthetic that induces hallucinogenic effects and is usually only administered with a doctor present. Plasencia contacted Chavez, who had once run a ketamine clinic, looking for the drug to sell to the actor in late September 2023. Their intentions to extort Perry were highlighted in their text messages saying, “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” and “Let’s find out.”
Throughout the months of September and October 2023, the charges allege, Plasencia illegally provided Perry and his assistant, Iwamasa, with ketamine and syringes on at least seven occasions, including instructing Iwamasa to inject Perry knowing he had no medical history, selling the drug to Iwamasa and injecting Perry himself without ensuring his safety afterward, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The New York Times reported that Matthew Perry had bought at least $55,000 worth of ketamine over the course of a month from Plasencia to fuel his addiction.
Chavez allegedly acted as Plasencia’s supplier, going so far as to write counterfeit prescriptions in patients’ names without their knowledge and lying to distributors to obtain access to ketamine with the sole intent of scamming Perry.
In late October 2023, Perry and Iwamasa had begun outsourcing more ketamine from Flemming who put them in touch with Sangha for a cut of the deal.
Perry’s enablers had allegedly made him so reliant on ketamine that, even after receiving a legally distributed treatment the same day, Plasencia visited and injected a “large dose” causing him to lose the ability to move or speak and leading to a spike in his blood pressure.
The next day, Flemming visited Iwamasa with a sample of Sangha’s ketamine and approved the drug, selling 25 vials to Perry for $6,000 with an additional $500 for himself.
On Oct. 28, 2023, the day of the actor’s death, Perry instructed Iwamasa to inject him three times, telling him to, “shoot me up with a big one,” and then turn on his hot tub. Iwamasa left for a few hours to run errands and returned to find Matthew Perry dead.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stated, “These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being…”
Iwamasa and Flemming took a plea deal and could face up to 15 and 25 years, respectively, when put on trial.
Plasencia, who pleaded not guilty, could face up to 10 years for each of seven counts relating to ketamine and up to 20 years for both counts related to falsifying records.
Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and also took a plea deal in exchange for information, and could face up to 10 years in prison.
Sangha, who also pleaded not guilty, could be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum life sentence if found guilty on all nine counts. Their trials will take place in March 2025.
