California’s Department of Justice has charged five individuals in connection with Matthew Perry’s death last October, including a former film director, two doctors, his live-in assistant, and a drug dealer known as “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood.
The “Friends” star was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that his death was caused by “the acute effects of ketamine,” a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties.
His autopsy also noted that drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine contributed to his death. No pills, drugs, or medications were found near the pool.
During a press conference on Thursday, Martin Estrada, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, announced multiple charges against the five defendants, stating that they “knew what they were doing was wrong” and “tried to cover up their actions.”
He emphasized that the defendants prioritized profit over Perry’s well-being and issued a warning to others engaged in similar activities.
“It is a drug that must be administered by medical professionals, and the patient must be monitored closely. That did not occur here,” Estrada said at the conference. “You are playing roulette with other people’s lives, just like these five defendants did with Mr. Perry’s.”
The co-conspirators reportedly used encrypted messaging apps and coded language to arrange drug deals, often referring to bottles of ketamine as “Dr. Pepper,” “cans,” and “bots.”
The DOJ has filed 18 criminal counts against 42-year-old physician Salvador Plasencia and 41-year-old Jasveen Sangha, accusing them of “distributing ketamine to Perry during the final weeks of the actor’s life.”
Three other defendants have been identified as co-conspirators who have already pleaded guilty. These include Perry’s live-in assistant, 59-year-old Kenneth Iwamasa, as well as 54-year-old Dr. Mark Chavez and film producer Eric Fleming.
Sangha, referred to in the DOJ’s indictment as “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, allegedly used her Los Angeles residence to store and distribute narcotics, including ketamine and methamphetamine.
Officials claim that Sangha, along with Fleming, sold the ketamine that Perry consumed. After news of Perry’s death broke, Sangha allegedly messaged Fleming on the Signal app, instructing him to “delete all our messages,” and adjusted the app’s settings to automatically delete their communications.
A subsequent search by the Los Angeles Police Department at Sangha’s “stash house” uncovered approximately 79 vials of ketamine.
In March, U.S. attorneys filed a complaint against Sangha for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The federal case against her was updated with a first superseding indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday and also named Plasencia.
