Jasveen Sangha, a suspected San Fernando Valley drug dealer dubbed “The Ketamine Queen” by prosecutors, is one of two individuals arrested on Thursday in connection with the death of Friends star Matthew Perry. Sangha, 41, is among five people charged with involvement in Perry’s death last year from a ketamine overdose, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The other defendants include two doctors and Perry’s personal assistant. Prosecutors allege that Sangha and one of the doctors, 42-year-old Salvador Plasencia, were arrested on Thursday and accused of distributing ketamine to Perry in the weeks leading up to his death.
Perry, 54, was found unconscious in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office later concluded that Perry died from “the acute effects of ketamine.”
Authorities have also linked Sangha to a previous fatal overdose. Here’s what we know about Sangha.
What charges is she facing?
An indictment unsealed on Thursday claims that Sangha’s distribution of ketamine on Oct. 24, 2023, led to Perry’s death. Sangha, a citizen of both the U.S. and Great Britain, faces nine charges related to Perry’s death, including: conspiracy to distribute ketamine, maintaining a drug-involved premises, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine. She was arraigned in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday and pleaded not guilty. If convicted of all charges, she could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, prosecutors stated.
The judge denied her request for bail on Thursday, and she remains in custody. Her next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15.
Why have her authorities dubbed her the “Ketamine Queen?”
Prosecutors accuse Sangha of distributing ketamine, as well as other illegal drugs, from her North Hollywood “stash house” since at least 2019. U.S. Attorney for California’s Central District Martin Estrada said during a press conference on Thursday that her home was a “drug-selling emporium.” He added that a search of her home turned up over 80 vials of ketamine, along with other drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and Xanax.
Prosecutors accuse Sangha of being “aware of the danger of ketamine.” In August 2019, she allegedly sold ketamine to a man named Cody McLaury just hours before he died of an overdose, according to prosecutors. After a relative of McLaury’s texted Sangha that her ketamine had killed McLaury, Sangha searched on Google: “Can ketamine be listed as a cause of death[?]”
One of the defendants who pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to charges in connection with Perry’s death, Erik Fleming, is mentioned in the indictment as saying about Sangha: she “only deal[s] with high end and celebs.” Sangha previously shared photos of her extravagant lifestyle on social media, from parties to vacations in Japan and Mexico, reported.
