Two and a half years later the death of Matthew Perrya former Hollywood producer involved in the distribution of the drugs that killed the “Friends” star actor was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison by a Los Angeles court.
Erik Fleming had pleaded guilty to having acted as an intermediary by buying 50 vials of ketamine from a trafficker, to give them to the star’s personal assistant, who injected him with the drug. The prosecution demanded two and a half years’ imprisonment against him.
The death of Matthew Perry, found unconscious in his jacuzzi in October 2023had shocked fans of “Friends” and sparked a shower of tributes in Hollywood. The 54-year-old actor, who played the role of Chandler Bing in the hit series, had spoken publicly about his addiction issues.
He was taking ketamine supervised as part of therapy sessions for depression. But this legal anesthetic is sometimes diverted for stimulating or euphoric purposes and Matthew Perry fell back into addiction in the fall of 2023, according to the investigation.
Association with the “queen of ketamine”
Aged 55, Erik Fleming was an acquaintance of Matthew Perry, who had some success in Hollywood at the turn of the 2000s. He notably produced the reality TV show “The Surreal Life” and directed the film “My Brother the Pig”, with Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes. The investigation revealed that he obtained his drugs from Jasveen Sangha, a trafficker known in certain circles like the “queen of ketamine”.
This American-British jet-setter sold the bottles that were fatal to Matthew Perry, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in April. “Delete all our messages,” she ordered the intermediary via SMS when she learned of the star’s death.
Two doctors were also convicted of knowingly exploiting the actor’s addiction. Salvador Placencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison in December for selling around twenty vials of ketamine to the star in the weeks before his death.
He got his supplies from Mark Chavez, another doctor sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 300 hours of community service. The vials of ketamine cost only a handful of dollars, but were sold for $2,000 each to Matthew Perry, according to the prosecution. “I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay”Plasencia had written to Chavez, in an SMS unearthed by the investigation.
Both practitioners were banned from practicing medicine. Like all other suspects in this case, Matthew Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, also pleaded guilty and admitted to injecting him with ketamine. His sentence is due to be pronounced on May 27.
