Matthew Perry died in 2023(Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Erik Fleming was sentenced to two years in prison due to his connection to the death of actor Matthew Perry.
The drug counselor previously pleaded guilty after administering a fatal dose of ketamine to Perry. The former Hollywood producer and director reportedly introduced Perry to Jasveen "Ketamine Queen" Sangha just two weeks prior to the actor's 2023 overdose death at his Los Angeles home.
Sangha previously pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. According to prosecutors, she sold the ketamine that effectively took Perry's life.
Fleming was the first of five to plead guilty in Perry's case, on one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, and turned on Sangha while cooperating with prosecutors. "For years…Sangha operated a high-volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence," prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum, which ultimately resulted in a 15-year sentence.
"To cultivate her business, [Sangha] marketed herself as an exclusive dealer who catered to high-profile Hollywood clientele…While [Sangha] worked to expand and profit from her drug trafficking, she knew – and disregarded – the grave harm her conduct was causing."
Erik Fleming was sentenced to two years in prison due to his connection to the death of actor Matthew Perry(Image: AP)
Perry had been receiving ketamine to treat his depression. While seeking more of the drug, he met Fleming through a friend who was in drug treatment. Fleming would get the ketamine from Sangha, increase the price, and then sell it to Perry's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, at the actor's home.
Sangha told the court she took full responsibility for her crimes, adding she had the "rug of life ripped out" from under her. At Sangha's sentencing on April 8, Perry's mother Suzanne and stepfather Keith Morrison appeared in court to face the convicted drug dealer.
"I feel bad for you, Miss Sangha. I don't hate you. … You are a drug dealer," Morrison told the court. He went on to call Perry a talented man who should have "had another act."
Drug dealer Jasveen Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in prison for her part in Matthew Perry's death
Meanwhile, Mark Chavez, 55, was slapped with eight months of home confinement by a Los Angeles federal judge on December 16 after he admitted in October to supplying 22 vials and nine lozenges of powerful medical anesthesia ketamine to Perry, despite knowing his past drug addiction.
The judge also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service and three years of supervised release. Chavez's lawyers had asked for leniency, adding that he's been struggling as an Uber driver after giving up his medical license. "I just want to say my heart goes out to the Perry family," Chavez said.
Plasencia, 43, who was sentenced to two and a half years on December 3 for his role in Perry's overdose, told Chavez, who sourced the drugs for his friend, on September 30, 2023, that he had "a famous patient" who "offered to pay a premium" for vials of the drug, prosecutors wrote.
Matthew Perry died in 2023(Image: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Weeks before Perry's death on October 28, 2023, Plasencia asked Chavez about Perry in a text, "How much this moron will pay?" Plasencia told Chavez how he once injected Perry "in the back seat of a car parked at a public parking lot of an aquarium in Long Beach, Calif." However, Chavez "reprimanded Plasencia" for "dosing him" in a public place and around kids, prosecutors wrote.
Iwamasa is the final person expected to be sentenced for crimes related to Perry's death. He injected Perry with the lethal dose, according to prosecutors, and is facing a maximum of 15 years behind bars. Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, and will hear his sentencing on June 10.
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