David Schwimmer looks downcast at theatre event in NYC after his Friends co-star Matthew Perry's 'Ketamine Queen' drug dealer pleaded guilty to supplying star's fatal dose
The Friends actor, 58, stepped out as his former co-star Matthew Perry's 'Ketamine Queen' drug dealer took a plea deal for supplying the star's fatal dose.
Jasveen Sangha made a guilty plea deal in connection with the October 2023 drug overdose death of Matthew at 54.
Sangha was initially facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a source close to the case told the Daily Mail exclusively.
Under the plea agreement, that mandatory minimum has been lifted, allowing Sangha to potentially receive a sentence less than 10 years for her role in the death of Perry, whose life was recently chronicled in the documentary Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy.
For the theatre David cut a casual figure in a black denim jacket and cap and looked in a sombre mood.
David and Matthew worked together for 10 years on Friends and David paid tribute to his 'generous' friend after his tragic death.
Matthew was found dead face down in his jacuzzi back on October 29, 2023, leaving Hollywood shaken to its core after he bravely shared details of his addiction struggles with the public to dissuade others from following a similar path.
Months later, a medical examiner determined that the actor - who had battled substance abuse issues throughout his life - had died of 'acute effects of ketamine.'
Legal analyst and federal criminal defense attorney Lou Shapiro told the Daily Mail he wasn't surprised Sangha decided to take the plea deal, especially since her co-defendants had done so earlier.
'When you look at the overwhelming evidence against her and what they found at her place alone — the drugs, the manufacturing equipment and the money — and tons of it, she was basically toast,' Shapiro said. 'There was nowhere for her to go. It wasn't if she was going to take the deal, it was a matter of just when.'
Shapiro added: 'Even if you don't intentionally try to harm somebody or cause them great bodily injury or death, the mere fact that you are engaging in a conduct that is very likely going to result in death, you're going to be held accountable for it.'
Shapiro said any arguments presented would have quickly crumbled under legal scrutiny: 'You can't look the other way and say, 'I was just selling it. I was doing him a favor.' That is not going to fly.
Shapiro added, 'This also sends a big message to the medical industry that doctors will be held fully accountable for death to bodily injury that results in their patients when they are merely prescribing drugs.
'These doctors knew what was going on and they fully participated in supplying Matthew Perry with as much ketamine as he wanted.'
Shapiro cited court records in which the doctors themselves marveled at the extent of Perry's addiction and lengths he was willing to go to in his quest to get his next fix.
'They even called him an 'idiot' at one point in their text messages,' Shapiro said. 'I think the medical community also will look at this as a tragedy for the loss of life but also, they are people who worked hard to become medical professionals.
'Instead, these doctors threw all of that away for greed.'
A sentencing hearing for Sangha 'is expected to occur in the coming months,' United States Attorney Bilal A. Essayli of California's Central District said in a statement obtained by Daily Mail on Monday.
'Upon entering her guilty plea, Sangha will face at her sentencing hearing,' Essayli said, 'a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on the drug-involved premises count.'
Sangha faces 'up to 10 years in federal prison for each ketamine distribution count ... and up to 15 years in federal prison for the count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury,' the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor noted that in October 2023, 'Sangha and Fleming sold Perry 51 vials of ketamine, which were provided' to Perry's live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.
Sangha sought to engage in a cover-up with another person involved in the scheme, Perry pal Erik Fleming, 55, 'after learning from news reports of Perry's death,' the prosecutor said.
Essayli said Monday that 'Sangha called Fleming on Signal to discuss how to distance themselves from it' following Perry's passing in the fall of 2023.
The prosecutor continued: 'That day, Sangha updated the settings on the Signal apps to automatically delete her messages with Fleming. She further instructed Fleming to 'Delete all our messages.''
Essayli said that 'two days after Perry's death, Fleming left Sangha a voicemail on Signal and texted, 'Please call . . . Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I'm 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Perry]. Only his assistant.
'So the assistant was the enabler. Also they are doing a three-month tox screening ... Does [ketamine] stay in your system or is it immediately flushed out[?].''
According to the prosecutor, Sangha also admitted to selling four vials of ketamine to another victim of a fatal overdose in August 2019, Cody McLaury.
The prosecutor said that Sangha admit in her plea deal to possessing drugs she intended to sell at her home in North Hollywood residence.
'In March 2023, law enforcement searched the residence,' according to Essayli. 'and found 1.7 kilograms of pressed pills containing methamphetamine, 79 vials of liquid ketamine, MDMA (Ecstasy) tablets [and] counterfeit Xanax pills.'
Also recovered were 'the baggies containing powdered ketamine and cocaine, and other drug trafficking items such as a gold money counting machine, a scale, a wireless signal and hidden camera detector, drug packaging materials, and $5,723 in cash,' the prosecutor said.
In June, another medical professional charged in the case, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, agreed to plead guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution in the case.
Plasencia had also been charged with prosecutors with altering and falsifying documents or records in connection with the federal probe.
With the expected guilty plea, Plasencia joined three others who had pleaded guilty in connection with the tragic death of the TV star.
They include: Dr. Mark Chavez; Perry's assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and Erik Fleming, who was an acquaintance of the Friends star.
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