New details have emerged after several arrests were made in connection to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry’s death on Thursday.
Per the New York Post, the actor reportedly froze up after Salvador Plasencia, a doctor, injected him with a “large dose” of ketamine only two weeks before his overdose.
Plasencia, along with another doctor, Mark Chavez, Perry’s longtime assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, alleged street dealer Erik Fleming, and Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles,” were charged on Thursday.
The five have been accused of swindling thousands of dollars from Perry in exchange for vials of ketamine, which according to authorities, cost as little as $12.
Plasencia was licensed to administer and prescribe the tranquilizer and decided to take advantage of Perry’s drug addiction, the indictment claims. It states he sent a text to Iwamasa that said, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” for the drug.
The doctor appeared to exercise some restraint 16 days before Perry was discovered dead in his hot tub at his California residence in October, following an episode where the actor seemed to “freeze up” and experienced a spike in blood pressure after receiving a “large dose” of ketamine.
“Let’s not do that again,” he texted to Iwamasa.
Iwamasa had given Perry at least 27 shots of ketamine during the last five days of his life, prosecutors allege. Three of those shots resulted in his “death and serious bodily injury,” prosecutors allege.
Iwamasa lived with Perry and had been his assistant since 1994. She had no prior medical training but injected her boss based on Plasencia’s instructions.
At the time of his death, Perry was receiving ketamine therapy for depression for several weeks. After the clinic’s physicians refused to increase his dosage, the actor reached out to Plasencia, according to Drug Enforcement Administration administrator Anne Milgram on Thursday.
Plasencia sought assistance from Chavez to help him get the drugs for Perry, she added.
Plasencia and Chavez had allegedly supplied Perry with ketamine from September until his death on Oct. 28. The duo reportedly gave the actor around 20 vials of the drug in exchange for around $55,000.
This included Perry having to cough up $2,000 for a vial of the drug that cost $12.
Authorities reported that Plasencia also wanted to be Perry’s “go-to” for drugs, allegedly selling Iwamasa another $6,000 worth of ketamine, despite knowing how dangerous the actor’s drug addiction had become.
Authorities speculate that the final dose of ketamine, which proved to be fatal, was supplied by Sangha.
Plasencia also faces charges for seven counts of ketamine distribution and two counts of document alteration and falsification related to a federal investigation.
Sangha, who allegedly operated a stash house, faces charges including maintaining drug-involved premises, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of ketamine distribution.
Both Plasencia and Sangha are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Fleming, Iwamasa, and Chavez agreed to a plea deal, admitting to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.
