One of the five people arrested in connection with the death of Matthew Perry once directed a film starring Scarlett Johansson.
The late Friends star died on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54, with a toxicology report concluding that he had passed away from the acute effects of ketamine.
A few months after his death was ruled accidental, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) launched an investigation into how the actor had so much of the drug in his system.
On Thursday, authorities announced that five people had been arrested for their alleged involvement in providing the beloved actor - who played Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom - with ketamine, including the doses that killed him.
Among those apprehended by cops were two doctors, Salvador Plasencia, and Mark Chavez, Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, and Jasveen Sangha, the woman known as “the ketamine queen”.
The fifth defendant is an alleged dealer named Erik Fleming, who has been revealed to be a former director and producer in the 90s, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The 54-year-old is credited on IMDB with directing several films, including The Silver Surfer (1992), Cyber Bandits (1995), and Tyrone (1999).
He previously worked with a young Johansson and Eva Mendes in the children's fantasy-comedy flick, My Brother the Pig (1999), which follows the story of a girl whose exasperating younger brother has been turned into a pig.
It was not a hit.
Fleming also produced an episode of the original series of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and ran a production company called Rich Hippie Productions, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the court documents obtained by NBC News, Sangha allegedly sold Perry approximately 15 vials of ketamine for about $11,000 in cash through Fleming, an associate of the Friends star,
US Attorney E. Martin Estrada said at a press conference that the so called "Ketamine Queen" supplied the actor with the doses of ketamine on October 24, and that they ultimately resulted in the star's death on October 28.
On the day of the actor's death, the indictment claims that Sangha texted the director on Signal, writing: "Delete all our messages," as cited by BBC. "Yes," Fleming replied.
Two days later, Fleming is alleged to have messaged Sangha: "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 3 month tox screening ... Does K stay in your system or is it immediately flushed out[?]” he added, per court filing.
Sangha also updated her Signal messaging app to automatically delete her messages with Fleming, per Vanity Fair.
Fleming has since pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Meanwhile, Sangha pleaded not guilty but was not released on bail, as she had already been out on a bond after being apprehended in March for a previous drug charge.
She has been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
In the days leading up to Perry's death, his assistant was administering "at least six shots" of the drug to the actor a day, per Sky News.
Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison, who married the actor's mom, Suzanne Perry in 1981, released a statement along with other family members about the arrests.
"We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously," they said, per Hollywood Reporter.
"We look forward to justice taking its course and we’re grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose agents investigated Matthew’s death. We’re hoping unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs will get the message," the family concluded.
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