A physician and an alleged ketamine dealer charged in Matthew Perry’s death have notified a federal judge they’ve agreed to delay their trials until next year. This segment was broadcast on the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2024.
A physician and an alleged ketamine dealer -- both indicted on charges they illegally supplied drugs to actor Matthew Perry before his death -- have notified a federal judge they've agreed to delay their trials until next year.
Defense attorneys for Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha signed a joint stipulation with federal prosecutors filed Tuesday that proposes to postpone jury trials until March 4, 2025.
Both had initially been set to face trial in October.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles announced charges against Plasencia, Sangha and three others August 15, accusing all 5 of playing a role in providing ketamine in the months and weeks leading up to Perry's death last October from an accidental ketamine overdose.
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Plascenia was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.
Sangha faces 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.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
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The request to delay the trial cited the voluminous amount of evidence that could be introduced at trial, including, "materials relating to the execution of federal search warrants, additional laboratory analysis of drugs, victim information, interview reports and recordings, expert reports, cellphone extractions and related reports, among other materials."
Sangha was originally indicted in April then faced additional charges when a superseding indictment was unsealed in August that also named Plasencia.
Three others have agreed to plead guilty to related charges, including Perry's long time live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's friend Erik Fleming, and Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician in San Diego accused of supplying ketamine to Dr. Plasencia.
Chavez made an initial appearance in court last week and is expected to enter a guilty plea in the coming weeks.
Perry was 54 when he was found unresponsive in the swimming pool at his home in the Pacific Palisades area and was pronounced dead by paramedics.
The LA County Medical Examiner concluded Perry's death on Oct. 28, 2023 was the result of the acute effects of the drug ketamine and listed contributing factors of drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.
