Matthew Perry death: Several, including at least 1 doctor, arrested in connection with ketamine overdose

Multiple arrests, including that of at least one doctor and several drug dealers, were made in Southern California in connection with Matthew Perry's death.

Multiple people have been arrested over the death of Friends actor Matthew Perry, reports revealed on Thursday, August 15.

FILE - Matthew Perry poses for a portrait on Feb. 17, 2015, in New York. Authorities are investigating the death of Perry and how the beloved actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death. Los Angeles Police Capt. Scot Williams told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday, May 21, 2024, that detectives were looking into why the “Friends” star had so much ketamine in his system when he died in October.(Brian Ach/Invision/AP)

The 54-year-old Hollywood star was found dead in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles on October 28, 2023. Early reports suggested that he'd passed away due to the acute effects of ketamine.

While NBC first broke the news on Thursday that an arrest was made in Southern California after the Los Angeles police department said it was doing its best to figure out how the actor had obtained the anaesthetic with psychedelic properties, TMZ soon expanded that many people, including at least one doctor and several drug dealers, had been taken into custody.

UPDATE: So far, five individuals have been accused of taking advantage of the actor's addiction. Jasveen Sangha (41), allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” and Dr Salvador Plascencia (42), a licensed medical doctor, known as “Dr P,” are the lead defendants in the case. They are expected to be arraigned later Thursday. 

Three others charged in the case are Perry's live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa (59) - admitted to administering the drug on the day the actor died; Dr Mark Chavex (54), another licensed medical doctor involved in the case who acknowledged to have sold the drug to Plascencia; and Eric Fleming (54) - admitted to distributing the drug that killed Perry. 

These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves," US attorney Martin Estrada said during a press briefing. “They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry, but they did it anyway.” 

Estrada also noted that Perry “fell back into addiction, and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves.”

More on Matthew Perry's overdose death

Officials told the outlet that multiple law enforcement agencies had "executed search warrants and seized computers, phones, and other electronic equipment” during their investigation to uncover who supplied Perry with the prescription medication that ultimately led to his demise in October.

The 17 Again actor had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression. His last treatment was reportedly scheduled for a week and a half before he passed away, implying that the ketamine Perry ingested at the time of his death was not legally prescribed.

The outlet also informed that Perry's system consisted of the same level of the drug that is used for general anaesthesia in surgery.

TMZ's sources further revealed that the search warrant outed numerous text messages mentioning Perry and the ketamine he'd reportedly asked for. The text chains also highlighted what these individuals were doing to get the drug to him and the price the Hollywood star would pay for it.

UPDATE: “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plascencia allegedly wrote in a text messages, as per ABC News. The doctor also wanted to be Perry's “go-to for drugs.” Additionally, Estrada claimed, Plascencia understood the danger of what he was doing, as he allegedly told another patient that the Friends actor was “spiraling out of control with his addiction.” Nevertheless, he offered he offered the drug to Perry. 

Authorities also seemed to have found other celebrities tied to the Hollywood drug scene during their investigation. While they reportedly got a search warrant for Brooke Muller, Charlie Sheen's ex, she doesn't appear connected to the recent arrests. Muller had been in a treatment centre with the Friends actor.

At the time of Perry's death – ruled an accident, an autopsy report stated, “At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”

The LAPD and Drug Enforcement Administration said in May that they had joined forces on the criminal investigation to dig deeper into the causes of the drug overdose. 

Perry had openly discussed his issues with addiction, which reportedly began at age 14. He also claimed his substance abuse problem was exacerbated during his time as Chandler Bing on the NBC hit series. However, the actor is said to have been 19 months sober at the time of his death. The medical examiner also claimed no illicit drugs were discovered at his house.