A trial date has been set for two of five people charged in connection with the death of beloved “Friends” actor Matthew Perry.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia and alleged drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors have also refer to as the “Ketamine Queen,” will be tried together.
The trial is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2025. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for February 19.
Plasencia and Sangha were arrested on August 15 and indicted on respective charges that include falsifying medical records and conspiracy to distribute, among others, according to the US Attorneys office.
Both Sangha and Plasencia, who prosecutors say are responsible for contributing to Perry’s death by distributing ketamine to the actor during the final weeks of his life, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The three other individuals charged in connection with Perry’s death – Dr. Mark Chavez, Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and an acquaintance to Perry, Erik Fleming – are cooperating with prosecutors and have reached plea agreements. Fleming and Iwamasa have sentencing dates set for October and November, respectively.
Sangha remains in federal custody and Plasencia is free on bond, according to the Department of Justice.
Mourners stand outside the home of actor Matthew Perry, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing in the hit series “Friends,” has died. He was 54. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Perry died in October 2023 at age 54 because of “acute effects” of ketamine and subsequent drowning, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy report. His body was found floating face down in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.
Plasencia was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation, according to the US Attorney’s office.
Plasencia allegedly sold vials of ketamine that he obtained from Chavez to Perry and Iwamasa “outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose” in the weeks leading up to his death.
He is also accused of teaching Iwamasa how to inject Perry with the drug and personally injecting Perry on one occasion, despite being informed that the actor’s ketamine addiction “was spiraling out of control.”
If convicted, Plasencia faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each ketamine-related count and up to 20 years for each falsification count.
In addition to having legitimate medical uses, ketamine is increasingly popular as a party drug.
“In Hollywood, you have parties you have after parties and people like to feel altered… it’s become popular in that circle,” said Dr. David Mahjoubi, who runs one of the hundreds of ketamine clinics that have proliferated in recent years.
Clinics like Mahjoubi’s use forms of the drug in controlled doses and controlled environments as therapy for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and PTSD. Doctors are given discretion to use medications for so-called “off-label” uses “as long as it’s within acceptable guidelines” and “not causing harm,” according to Mahjoubi.
“If somebody wanted to get high off ketamine, they’re gonna go buy it from the street,” Mahjoubi added. “It’s gonna be a lot cheaper than coming to see a physician getting an infusion.”
When the Ketamine clinic that was treating Perry declined to increase his dose, prosecutors say, he went first to Plasencia, and then due to the cost, to Sangha.
Sangha, whom authorities call the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, ran what amounted to “a drug selling emporium” in her home and had sold vials of ketamine to Fleming on Perry’s behalf, according to Fleming’s plea agreement.
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Prosecutors also claim that Sangha was “aware of the danger of ketamine” and continued to sell it even after she was made aware that the ketamine she sold to aspiring personal trainer Cody McLaury in August 2019 contributed to his overdose death.
Federal agents and LAPD detectives found over 70 vials of ketamine, among other “fraudulently obtained” and illegal drugs, after executing search warrants at Sangha’s residence, according to a press release from the US attorney’s office.
She is charged with 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.
Sangha is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The-CNN-Wire
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