The drug dealer dubbed the “Queen of Ketamine” was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday in connection with the fatal overdose of “Friends” star Matthew Perry, including her role in providing the dose of the powerful anesthetic that killed the actor, Reuters writes.
Jayvee Sangha, who admitted to running a “stock house” for illegal narcotics from her home in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in September to five felony drug charges. The allegations stemmed from the death of Matthew Perry in 2023, when the actor was 54 years old.
Jayvee Sangha, 42, a dual US and British citizen, faced up to 65 years in prison.
Federal District Judge Sherilyn Garnett imposed a 15-year sentence as recommended by federal prosecutors.
Sangha, dressed in a beige prison uniform at the hearing in a Los Angeles federal courtroom, expressed remorse for her involvement in Perry's death in a statement she gave moments before the sentencing.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. These were horrible choices that ultimately proved tragic,” Sangha told the judge.
Sangha's sentence was more severe than those given to the two doctors previously convicted in the case.
Two other previously convicted co-defendants — another drug dealer and Perry's former personal assistant — have not yet been sentenced.
The defense asked the judge to limit Sangha's sentence to the time already served since her arrest in August 2024 — roughly one year and eight months.
The judge rejected the leniency argument
Sangha's attorney argued that she suffered from substance abuse problems but had stopped using after her arrest and demonstrated his client's desire to improve her life and the lives of those around her, including through her efforts to organize and lead weekly meetings of the Narcotics Anonymous group.
But the judge said she took into account the fact that Sangha continued to sell illegal drugs for six months after Perry's death, showing a lack of remorse at the time.
Matthew Perry was found by his personal assistant, who lived with him, floating face down and breathless in a hot tub at the actor's home in Los Angeles on October 28, 2023.
The autopsy report concluded that Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine,” which, combined with other factors, led to the actor's loss of consciousness and drowning.
Ketamine is a short-acting but powerful anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychological disorders. It also gained popularity as a party drug.
Decades of substance abuse
Perry had publicly admitted to substance abuse for decades, a period that coincided with the height of his fame when he played the sardonic but charming Chandler Bing on NBC's hit 1990s sitcom Friends.
The actor's death came a year after the publication of Perry's memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which chronicled his struggles with addiction to prescription painkillers and alcohol, which he wrote came close to ending his life on several occasions.
In the months before his death, Perry claimed to have regained his sobriety. But according to federal law enforcement officials, Perry was receiving medically supervised ketamine infusions for depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug.
When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, Perry turned to unscrupulous providers willing to exploit his drug addiction for their own financial gain, authorities said.
A few weeks later, he died of an overdose of ketamine supplied by Sangha, known to her street clients as the “Queen of Ketamine.”
Sangha admitted to selling a total of 51 vials of ketamine to a middleman, Erik Fleming, who in turn sold the doses to Perry through the actor's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
Prosecutors said it was Iwamasa who later administered at least three doses of ketamine to Perry from vials provided by Sangha, which led to the actor's death.
As part of her deal with prosecutors, Sangha pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a premises for drug trafficking, plus three counts of unlawful distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Sangha admitted at the time that she was aware that the vials she sold Fleming were intended for Perry. She also admitted to selling ketamine to a person in August 2019, who died hours later of an overdose.
Perry's stepfather, television journalist Keith Morrison, recalled how the actor brought joy to his family and wrote a best-selling book and a play even as he struggled with addiction.
“All those possibilities died with him. He should have written one more act, two more acts,” Morrison said in a victim impact statement before the sentencing.
Fleming, Iwamasa and the two accused doctors — Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia — all pleaded guilty to federal drug crimes in the case. Plasencia was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison. Chavez received eight months of house arrest.
