LIFE IN PRISON: Stakes Are High For Duo Charged In Matthew Perry’s Death Who Still Maintain Their Innocence
Trial dates have been set for two of the five individuals charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry’s death in October 2023, and the stakes are high as the charges against the duo carry hefty penalties for them if they are found guilty, including decades in federal prison. However, despite the evidence against them, both maintain their innocence in the case.
Related: “Multiple People” Responsible For the Death of ‘Friends’ Actor Matthew Perry
Two Doctors, a Drug Trafficker, a Friend, and an Acquaintance Are Charged
Actor Matthew Perry was found dead in a hot tub near the pool behind his Los Angeles mansion on October 28, 2023. On December 15, an autopsy report by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner stated that Perry died from the acute effects of the powerful dissociative drug ketamine.
But investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service wanted to look deeper to answer one more question: How did Matthew Perry acquire the final fatal dose of ketamine?
After months of investigations and interviews, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the arrests of five individuals charged with playing a role in actor Matthew Perry’s overdose death on October 28, 2023.
The five individuals who were arrested on August 15 were charged in “an 18-count superseding indictment” with “distributing ketamine to Perry during the final weeks of the actor’s life,” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Among them were Perry’s personal assistant, two physicians, Los Angeles’s so-called “Ketamine Queen,” and an acquaintance of Matthew Perry’s.
Related: Court Documents Paint a Horrifying Picture of Matthew Perry’s Bedroom On the Day He Died
Kenneth Iwamasa, Matthew Perry’s 59-year-old live-in personal assistant, admitted to administering ketamine injections to Perry at his request.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, alleged drug trafficker Jasveen Sangha, Dr. Mark Chavez, and Perry’s acquaintance, Erik Fleming, were also charged with playing various roles that ultimately led to Perry’s accidental overdose death at his Pacific Palisades home.
Plasencia and Sangha are charged with 18 criminal accounts for allegedly “distributing ketamine to [Matthew] Perry during the final weeks of the actor’s life,” according to the indictment. Iwamasa, Chavez, and Fleming are considered co-conspirators in the case.
Alleged Drug Dealing Duo to Face Trial Together
A hearing scheduled for Wednesday for Plasencia and Sangha was canceled by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who has set the date for the duo’s trial. Both will face trial beginning March 4, 2025.
“Ketamine Queen” Sangha and Dr. Plasencia have both been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Sangha has also been charged with one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
According to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, the duo were among a group of individuals who “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves.”
“These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” Estrada continued. “Drug dealers selling dangerous substances are gambling with other people’s lives over greed. This case, along with our many other prosecutions of drug dealers who cause death, sends a clear message that we will hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths they cause.”
Anne Milgram, head of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, which assisted in the criminal investigation into Matthew Perry’s death, echoed Estrada’s sentiments, adding the following:
We allege each of the defendants played a key role in his death by falsely prescribing, selling, or injecting the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry’s tragic death. Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials.
Hefty Penalties Could Accompany Any Convictions
If they are convicted of the charges against them, each could spend decades in federal prison–remaining “behind bars well into their old age,” per Deadline.
Known drug trafficker Jasveen Sangha could face life in prison for her role should she be convicted of the charges against her.
“If convicted of all charges, Sangha would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment,” Estrada said. “Plasencia would face up to 10 years in federal prison for each ketamine-related count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each records falsification count.”
Both Sangha and Plasencia have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Matthew Perry‘s acting career spanned many years and encompassed many roles, the most famous of which was that of the hilariously sarcastic Chandler Bing in the NBC sitcom Friends, which debuted in 1994 and also starred Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Jennifer Aniston.
