Drug addiction counsellor sentenced in Matthew Perry's overdose death

BBC

​​​A man involved in the overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry has been sentenced to two years in prison, US media report.

​Erik Fleming, one of five people charged after Perry's death, sourced the surgical anaesthetic ketamine from a Los Angeles woman dubbed the "Ketamine Queen" and supplied it to the actor. The drug counsellor, 56, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

A federal judge also sentenced Fleming to three years of supervised release and a $200 penalty.

​​Perry was found dead in his backyard jacuzzi in southern California in October 2023. His death was determined to have been caused by the acute effects of ketamine.

Prosecutors sought a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Fleming while his defence team asked for a lesser sentence of three months in prison and nine months in a residential drug treatment facility.

Fleming, according to the Associated Press, told Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in court on Wednesday: "It's truly a nightmare I can't wake up from. I'm haunted by the mistakes I made."

In a sentencing memo filed before his court appearance, Fleming's lawyers said that he has gone "to extreme lengths to atone for his criminal conduct".

"I made the biggest mistake of my life, and I am so deeply sorry for the hurt I have caused," Fleming wrote in a letter to the judge in April before his sentencing.

He also said that he was "overwhelmed with grief and shame" when he found out Perry had died - saying that procured ketamine for the actor because he wanted money and thought he was doing a favour for a friend.

He apologised for his "inexcusable behavior" and wrote that he takes full responsibility for his criminal acts.

"I hope my sentence provides some measure of justice and peace for everyone who loved Matt," Fleming wrote.

Fleming is one of five people - including medical doctors and the actor's assistant - who US officials say supplied ketamine to Perry and exploited his drug addiction for profit, which led to his overdose death.

The drug addiction counsellor is the fourth to be sentenced in the years-long legal saga. Each has also pleaded guilty in the federal case.

Last month, Jasveen Sangha, 42, the dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen", was sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling drugs that led to the actor's death.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, who also supplied the actor with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison.

Dr Mark Chavez, a California doctor who sold the ketamine to Perry, was also sentenced in December, to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release.

Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's personal live-in assistant who was accused of injecting the actor with ketamine, is scheduled to be sentenced on 27 May after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.