Five people charged for overdose death of Friends star Perry

California authorities indicted five people, including two doctors, for contributing to the fatal overdose of Friends actor Matthew Perry, according to court documents released on Thursday. Authorities arrested Jasveen Sangha and Dr. Salvador Plasencia for drug distribution charges including selling the actor the ketamine which eventually led to his death. Ketamine is a sedative and can be used as an anesthetic but is also abused as a club drug, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Sangha and Plasencia pleaded not guilty and will face trial in October, while the other three have pleaded guilty. Each defendant played a key role in Perry’s death, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram alleged in a statement.

Who are the two arrested? Sangha, who the Department of Justice said is known as “The Ketamine Queen,” allegedly trafficked several types of drugs in the North Hollywood area, including cocaine, methamphetamine capsules, and other fraudulently obtained prescription drugs. She faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, with a maximum sentence of life in prison, the DOJ said.

Dr. Plasencia allegedly obtained and sold ketamine without a legitimate medical reason outside of professional practice, according to the California federal prosecutor’s office. He faces seven counts of ketamine distribution. Authorities also charged Dr. Plasencia for allegedly falsifying medical records in the investigation to show a treatment plan and pass off the injections as legitimate. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each of the eight ketamine counts and up to 40 years in prison for the records falsification.

Who are the other people charged in the case? Police previously arrested three other people implicated in the actor’s death:

• Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining and distributing ketamine causing death. Iwamasa, who has no medical training, confessed to regularly giving Perry ketamine injections at the actor’s request, according to the DOJ. The assistant gave Perry two injections the day he died and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

• San Diego’s Dr. Mark Chavez also pleaded guilty to distributing ketamine and confessed to supplying Dr. Plasencia with the drug to sell to Perry. Chavez also used the identity of a previous patient, without the patient’s consent, for a prescription to obtain the drug from a legal ketamine distributor, according to the DOJ. Dr. Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison.

• Erik Fleming pleaded guilty to the state’s charges of obtaining and distributing ketamine to Perry. Fleming admitted to coordinating drug sales between Perry and Sangha and distributing about 25 vials of the horse tranquilizer to Perry four days before his death, according to the DOJ. Flemming faces up to 25 years in prison.