Five people, including the personal assistant and two doctors, were arrested for the death of Matthew Perry, the star of "Friends". According to California police, the two doctors gave the actor a large amount of ketamine.
Prosecutor Martin Estrada said that people "took advantage of Perry's problems with addiction to get rich."
Perry has spoken publicly about his problems with addiction. He was doing ketamine therapy for anxiety and depression around the time of his death. As the autopsy in Los Angeles revealed, there was a much higher amount of ketamine in the actor's body, compared to what was described in the prescription given by the doctor. The Los Angeles Police Department said at the time that they would conduct a joint investigation to find out why there was such a high amount of drugs and substances in the actor's body.
"This investigation has uncovered an extensive criminal network responsible for the distribution of large amounts of ketamine to Perry and others," Estrada said Thursday, adding: "This network included an assistant, various brokers, two doctors and a main source of supply of the drug, known as the "Queen of Ketamine".
Estrada said that 5 people were arrested in total.
"They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew they were bringing a great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyway. After all, they were more interested in taking advantage of Mr. Perry than to look after his welfare.
According to the Times, those arrested may be Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Queen of Ketamine" and the doctor Salvador Plasencia, known as "Dr. P". The pair are charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine; distribution of ketamine resulting in the person's death; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; alteration and falsification of records, in connection with the federal investigation.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's personal assistant, was charged with distributing ketamine. Also, Mark Chavez, a doctor, and Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry's, were charged, after it turned out that they were part of this network.
Court documents revealed text messages sent between Plasencia and Chavez in which the former discussed buying ketamine to sell to the victim, Perry. In the messages, Plasencia wrote: "I wonder how much money this idiot will pay" and "let's find out."
Perry was found dead in a Jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023. The Los Angeles medical examiner's office determined the cause of death to be "acute effects of ketamine."
He said drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, were contributing factors. An autopsy found levels of ketamine in his blood similar to the levels used during general anesthesia. Perry has discussed his history with substance abuse, which he said began at age 14 and escalated during his role on Friends.
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