Death of Matthew Perry: Lawyer claims the actor allegedly relapsed before his tragic death and was “frozen” by a dose of ketamine; “fell back into addiction”

Trigger warning: This article contains references to alcohol and drug addiction

Matthew Perry, the famous star of the hit series Friends, died last year on October 28th. A new development in the case of his tragic demise shows that the actor was addicted to ketamine and received the drug from people close to him.

Law enforcement announced on Thursday, August 15, that the actor was allegedly severely addicted to the aforementioned drug, despite claiming to have been clean for years.

US Attorney Martin Estrada has filed charges against five people in the case during the latest developments. Surprisingly, these people include two doctors. Estrada also stated during a press conference that investigators had discovered that Perry had relapsed last fall.

During the press conference, Estrada mentioned that the “17 Again” actor had once again fallen into his addictions and that the five defendants had taken advantage of the actor’s situation, despite being fully aware of their wrongdoing, just to make a profit for themselves.

He called out Dr. Salvador Plasencia for giving Perry more ketamine than he needed.

The US prosecutor further stated that the doctor once injected the actor from “The Whole Nine Yards” with ketamine and noticed that he was paralyzed and his blood pressure also rose.

However, he left Perry with additional vials of the drug with Kenny Iwamasa, a longtime personal assistant to Matthew Perry, who administered the final dose of ketamine that ultimately killed Perry.

In this case, Plasencia and the “Ketamine Queen,” a street drug dealer, Jasveen Sangha, were named as the main defendants.

They are accused of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Plasencia alone is accused of seven counts of distribution of ketamine.

The doctor is also charged with two counts of altering and falsifying documents and records in connection with the federal investigation.

Speaking of Sangha: She is accused of operating a drug-dependent establishment and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to resell.

The Ketamine Queen is also charged with one count of possession of ketamine with intent to distribute and five counts of distribution of ketamine.

According to the charges, Plasencia faces up to 10 years in prison for each ketamine-related count and up to 20 years in prison for each count of falsification.

As for Sangha, according to a statement from the Justice Department, she faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in a federal prison, with the statutory maximum sentence being life imprisonment.

They pleaded not guilty on August 15 and their trials will take place in October.

Meanwhile, another drug trafficker, Erik Fleming, and Dr. Mark Chavez, who happens to be Plasencia's co-conspirator, were also charged but agreed to a plea deal. Kenny Iwamass was also the one who made a plea deal.

Disclaimer: If you know someone who is struggling with alcohol or drug abuse, please contact the authorities and report it. There are several hotlines for such cases.

ALSO READ: Report: Matthew Perry's personal account balance was over $1.5 million at the time of his death