Five individuals have been charged in connection with the 2023 death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry, the US Attorney’s Office said on Thursday, according to CNN.
The charges, announced at a press conference in Los Angeles, come after investigators say they uncovered an underground network of drug sellers and suppliers they allege are responsible for distributing the ketamine, a potentially deadly drug, that killed Perry.
The defendants include two doctors, Perry’s live-in personal assistant and a person referred to by authorities as “The Ketamine Queen,” said a press release from the US Attorney’s office.
US Attorney Martin Estrada said the defendants “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues” and added, “They knew what they were doing was wrong.”
Three of the five charged have reached a plea agreement, according to CNN.
The other two defendants are Dr. Salvador Plasencia, of Santa Monica, California, and Jasveen Sangha, who Estrada said ran what amounted to “a drug selling emporium” in her home. They were indicted on Wednesday, the US Attorney said.
Perry died in October 2023 at the age of 54. He was found floating face down in a stand-alone jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades home. The actor died as a result of “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy report.
When announcing the charges on Thursday, Estrada said investigators believe Perry “fell back into addiction” in the fall of 2023 and noted Perry’s vulnerability as a recovering addict.
Estrada alleged that Plasencia worked with Dr. Mark Chavez to supply Perry with Ketamine, which Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, would inject the actor with despite having no medical training.
Chavez, a 54-year-old doctor from San Diego, “has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine,” according to the release.
Iwamasa, a 59-year-old from Toluca Lake, California, pleaded guilty on August 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, the release said. Authorities allege that Iwamasa also “performed multiple injections on Perry on October 28, 2023 – the day Perry died.”
Eric Fleming, 54, of Hawthorne, California, has also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, according to the US Attorney. Fleming said in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, which Fleming said he obtained from Sangha, the press release added.
Perry had detailed his decades-long struggles with drug addiction in a 2022 memoir. He wrote that he began abusing prescription medication after he was involved in a jet ski accident on the set of the film “Fools Rush In” in 1997 and was prescribed Vicodin.
According to his book, Perry eventually escalated to taking up to 55 pills per day, which resulted in his significant weight loss that was visible during his time working on “Friends.” He noted that it was difficult to watch the physical transformation he went through during his time on the show.
Perry’s death was met with shock. His “Friends” castmates - Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow - released a joint statement after Perry died, writing “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.”
“There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss,” the statement, released by their individual representatives, added. “In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
In May, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Scot Williams told CNN that an investigation into Perry’s death was ongoing and criminal in nature.
Williams said authorities were looking into how Perry got the drugs and who may have supplied them. The US Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Postal Inspection Service were also involved in the investigation.