LOS ANGELES – Nearly 10 months after the death of Matthew Perry, the long-simmering investigation into the ketamine that killed him came dramatically into public view with the announcement that five people had been charged with having roles in the overdose of the beloved “Friends” star.
Here are key things to know about the case, including the two key figures who could be headed for trial and the possibility of the steepest of prison sentences.
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A sweeping set of indictments
One or more arrests had been expected since investigators from three different agencies revealed in May they had been conducting a joint probe into how the 54-year-old Perry got such large amounts of ketamine.
The actor had been among the growing number of patients using legal but off-label medical means to treat depression, or in other cases chronic pain, with the powerful surgical anesthetic.
Recent reports suggested indictments might be imminent, but few outside observers, if any, knew how wide-ranging the prosecution would be, reaching much further than previous cases stemming from celebrity overdoses.
When Michael Jackson died in 2009 from a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol, his doctor was charged with providing it. After rapper Mac Miller died in 2017, two men who prosecutors described as a dealer and a middleman were convicted of providing fentanyl-laced oxycodone that helped kill him.
But Perry's case pulled in both, with indictments against doctors and illegal distributors who prosecutors say preyed on his long and public struggles with addiction. The investigation even went after the live-in personal assistant who prosecutors say helped him get ketamine and injected it directly into him before Perry was found dead in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023.
“They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry. But they did it anyway,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges.
The prosecution was well under way even before the announcement. Two people including the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and a Perry acquaintance, Eric Fleming, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drug. A San Diego physician, Dr. Mark Chavez, has agreed to enter a guilty plea.
That leaves prosecutors free to pursue their two biggest targets.
The doctor and the ‘Ketamine Queen’
An indictment unsealed Thursday alleges Perry turned to Los Angeles doctor Salvador Plasencia when his regular doctors refused to give him more ketamine. Prosecutors allege Plasencia cashed in on Perry's desperation and addiction, getting him to pay $55,000 in cash for large amounts of the drug in the two months before his death.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted a co-defendant, according to his indictment.
He pleaded not guilty to seven counts of distribution of ketamine in an appearance in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
Plasencia's attorney, Stefan Sacks, said outside court that he "was operating with what he what he thought were the best of medical intentions,” and his actions “certainly didn’t rise to the level of criminal misconduct.”
Prosecutors allege Jasveen Sangha, whom they describe as a drug dealer known to customers as the “Ketamine Queen," provided the doses of the drug that actually killed Perry, injected into the actor by Iwamasa with syringes supplied by Plasencia.
Sangha also pleaded not guilty. Her attorney Alexandra Kazarian derided the “queen” moniker as made-for-media consumption during the hearing. The lawyer declined comment on the case outside court.
Prosecutors say the other doctor in the case, Chavez, helped Plasencia obtain the ketamine he gave to Perry, while Perry's acquaintance, Fleming, helped get ketamine from Sangha to Perry.
Chavez could get up to 10 years in prison, Iwamasa up to 15 years and Fleming up to 25 years.
Multiple messages seeking comment from attorneys for the three men were not returned.
Looking ahead to trial
Sangha could get life in prison if convicted as charged, while Plasencia could get up to 120 years. Each has a trial date in October, but it is highly unlikely any would be facing a jury by then, and the two may be tried together. They also could face testimony from the co-defendants who reached plea agreements.
Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar ruled Sangha should be held without bond while awaiting trial, citing prosecutors' contentions that she had destroyed evidence and funded a lavish lifestyle with drug sales even after Perry's death.
The judge agreed to release Plasencia after he posted a $100,000 bond.
His attorney argued the Perry case was “isolated” and the doctor should be allowed to treat patients who depended on him at his one-man practice while awaiting trial.
“I'm not buying that argument,” Sagar said, but agreed Plasencia could see patients so long as they signed a document in which he acknowledged the charges.
“People have probably already heard about it from the amount of press,” Sacks told the judge, noting if they hadn't, they would soon.
Records show Plasencia’s medical license has been in good standing with no records of complaints, though it is set to expire in October and he could face action. He already has surrendered his federal license to prescribe more dangerous drugs.
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic approved by U.S. health regulators for use during surgery. It can be given as an intramuscular injection or by IV.
The drug is a chemical cousin of the recreational drug PCP. Ketamine itself has been used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It can cause hallucinations and can impact breathing and the heart.
Pushing back against ketamine
Prosecutors and police presented the Perry case as part of a major pushback against a rise in the illegal use of ketamine that has shadowed the broadening of its legal use.
Los Angeles police said in May they were working with the U.S. Drug Enforcment Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with a probe into how Perry got the drug. His autopsy, released in December, found the amount of ketamine in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.
“As Matthew Perry’s ketamine addiction grew, he wanted more and he wanted it faster and cheaper. That is how he ended up buying from street dealers and stole the ketamine that ultimately led to his death,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Anne Milgram said Thursday. “In doing so, he followed the arc that we have tragically seen with many others. The substance use disorder begins in a doctor’s office and ends in the street.”
Perry had years of struggles with addiction dating back to his time on NBC’s megahit sitcom, "Friends,” for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Playing Chandler Bing, he became one of the biggest television stars of his generation alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.