Friends star Matthew Perry "froze up" from a ketamine injection 16 days before his death, Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said in a news conference on Thursday.
The news follows five arrests in connection with the tragedy. Doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, Perry's longtime assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, the star's acquaintance Erik Fleming and alleged drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, known as Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles, are all facing charges.
Dr. Plasencia allegedly taught Iwamasa how to inject ketamine, despite knowing that Perry was "spiraling out of control with his addiction," Estrada said. He added that a ketamine injection administered 16 days before Perry's death saw the actor "freeze up and his blood pressure spike."
"Let's not do that again," Dr. Plasencia is accused of telling Iwamasa. However, he allegedly left Iwamasa additional vials of the drug.
"Defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves," Estrada said during the press briefing. "They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyway."
Estrada noted that the investigation launched into the October 2023 death of Perry had "revealed a broad, underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others."
Placencia and Chavez are alleged to have charged Perry $2,000 for a vial of ketamine that they paid $12 for.
Estrada said that over the course of two months—from September 2023 to October 2023—Perry received "approximately 20 vials of Ketamine," which cost the actor about $55,000.
"Defendant Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit off of Mr. Perry," Estrada said. "He wrote in a text message in September 2023, 'I wonder how much this moron will pay?' He also stated in text messages that he wanted to be Mr. Perry's sole source of supply."
Sangha—who authorities believe supplied Perry's fatal dose—pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved 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.
Plasencia pleaded not guilty to charges including seven counts of distribution of ketamine, one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.
Last week, Fleming pleaded guilty on August 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Iwamasa pleaded guilty on August 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.
Chavez agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He is scheduled to be arraigned on August 30.
"Matthew Perry's journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
"Every day, the DEA works tirelessly with our federal, state, and local partners to protect the public and to hold accountable those that distribute deadly and dangerous drugs—whether they are local drug traffickers or doctors who violate their sworn oath to care for patients."
Perry died on October 28. He was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home in Pacific Palisades, California. An autopsy concluded the sitcom star's cause of death was attributed to the acute effects of ketamine. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said drowning and coronary artery disease also contributed to his death.
Perry rose to fame as Chandler Bing the hit series Friends. He also appeared on Ally McBeal and received Emmy award nominations for Friends, The West Wing, The Ron Clark Story and Friends: The Reunion.
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