Two doctors and a personal assistant who lives with Matthew Perry are among those charged following a months-long investigation into how the prescription drug ketamine that contributed to the actor's death was obtained.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged five people in connection with the death of the “Friends” star, who was found dead in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28. Traces of ketamine, which is sometimes used to treat depression, were found in his stomach, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
But the level found in his blood was about the same as would be used during general anesthesia, his autopsy showed.
Since then, authorities have been working to determine how Perry obtained the drug, which caused cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.
The Times reported in June that investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Service had linked several people to the purchase of ketamine.
Defendants named in the case include two doctors, Perry's live-in personal assistant who authorities say injected him with ketamine, and a dealer dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” by federal agents.
Here's what we know about the people named in the indictment, which was unsealed Thursday:
- Jasveen Sangha, 41, also known as the “Ketamine Queen” The North Hollywood woman was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-related 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 the indictment. Prosecutors say Perry’s personal assistant began obtaining ketamine for the Sangha actor and a street-level dealer in mid-October. She is accused of selling about 50 vials of the drug to the actor for $11,000.
- Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 42, known as “Dr. PAG” Federal prosecutors say that a month before Perry's death, Plasencia learned that the actor was interested in obtaining ketamine, a legal drug commonly used as an anesthetic. It can be abused for recreational purposes, as users are drawn to its dissociative effects. He is accused of injecting Perry with ketamine at his Pacific Palisades home on Sept. 30 and then leaving vials of ketamine, syringes and injection instructions for Perry's assistant. Plasencia was charged with seven counts of distributing ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.
- Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, Perry's personal assistant On Aug. 7, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and cause death. He admitted to injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including giving the actor multiple injections on the day of his death, according to authorities.
- Dr. Cesar Chavez, 54, physician based in San Diego Chavez admitted in a plea agreement that he sold ketamine to Plasencia, including an amount he diverted from his former ketamine clinic, according to prosecutors. He also made false statements to a wholesale ketamine distributor and submitted a false prescription in the name of a former patient without that patient’s knowledge or permission, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine in connection with Perry’s death.
- Eric Fleming, 54 Fleming, described by prosecutors as a drug dealer and acquaintance of Perry, admitted to authorities that he received vials of ketamine from Sangha and distributed 50 vials of the drug to Iwamasa, half of them four days before Perry's death. Fleming pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of ketamine resulting in death.
On March 19, during a raid at Jasveen Sangha's North Hollywood home, narcotics including methamphetamine and ketamine were seized. Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” by investigators, is charged in the death of actor Matthew Perry.
(United States District Court)
Sangha was arrested in March on narcotics charges and posted $100,000 bail in a separate case.
During a raid at Sangha’s home on March 19, authorities seized 1,978 grams of methamphetamine pills, 79 vials of liquid ketamine, 2,127 grams of pills suspected to be Xanax, 323 grams of a substance suspected to be psilocybin mushrooms and 128 grams of suspected cocaine, according to federal prosecutors. Authorities also found a journal in his home detailing thousands of dollars in drug transactions, according to Thursday’s indictment.
Prosecutors say Perry was not the only victim to overdose on Sangha's product.
In August 2019, he sold ketamine to Cody McLaury hours before his death. One of McLaury’s relatives texted Sangha: “The ketamine you sold to my brother killed him. It is listed as the cause of death,” according to court records.
Days later, records show, Sangha Googled: “Can ketamine be included as a cause of death?”[?]”
