United States. Death of Matthew Perry, star of Friends: former Hollywood producer sentenced to two years …

Two and a half years after the death of Matthew Perry, a former Hollywood producer involved in the distribution of drugs that killed the star of “Friends” was sentenced to two years in prison by a Los Angeles court on Wednesday. Erik Fleming, 55, will also have to undergo judicial supervision for three years after his release from prison.

He pleaded guilty to acting as an intermediary in buying 50 vials of ketamine from a trafficker, to pass them on to the star’s personal assistant, who injected the drugs. The prosecution demanded two and a half years of imprisonment against him.

The death of Matthew Perry, found unconscious in his jacuzzi in October 2023, shocked fans of “Friends” and sparked a flood of tributes in Hollywood. The 54-year-old actor, who played Chandler Bing in the hit series, publicly spoke about his addiction problems. He was taking ketamine in a supervised manner as part of therapy sessions for depression. However, this legal anesthetic is sometimes misused for stimulating or euphoric purposes, and Matthew Perry fell back into addiction in the fall of 2023, according to the investigation.

Erik Fleming was an acquaintance of Matthew Perry, who had some success in Hollywood in the early 2000s. He notably produced the reality TV show “The Surreal Life” and directed the film “My Brother the Pig,” starring Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes.

The investigation revealed that he was sourcing drugs from Jasveen Sangha, a trafficker known in some circles as the “ketamine queen.” This American-British socialite sold him the vials that proved fatal to Matthew Perry, and she was sentenced to 15 years in prison in April. “Delete all of our messages,” she ordered the intermediary via text when she learned of the star’s death.

Two doctors were also sentenced for knowingly exploiting the actor’s addiction. Salvador Plasencia received 30 months in prison in December for selling around twenty vials of ketamine to the star in the weeks leading up to his death. He was sourcing from Mark Chavez, another doctor sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 300 hours of general community service.

The ketamine vials cost only a few dollars but were resold to Matthew Perry for $2,000 each, according to the prosecution. “I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay,” Plasencia wrote to Chavez in a text message unearthed by the investigation. Both practitioners were banned from practicing medicine. Like all other suspects in this case, Matthew Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, also pleaded guilty and admitted to injecting him with ketamine. His sentence is set to be pronounced on May 27.