Matthew Perry's assistant gets jailtime

Kenneth Iwamasa, the personal assistant who injected Matthew Perry with the ketamine that killed him, has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.

The sentencing was handed down on Wednesday by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also fined Iwamasa $10,000.

He is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in connection with Perry's death in October 2023, bringing a legal process that has wound through the courts for nearly two years to a close.

Iwamasa, who had known the Friends star since 1992 and began working as his live-in personal assistant in 2022, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury. 

His role in Perry's death was direct and damning. 

On 28 October 2023, he injected the actor with at least three shots of ketamine, drugs he had sourced from a supply chain that ultimately traced back to Jasveen Sangha, known in court documents as the "Ketamine Queen." 

The injections caused Perry's death.

The court heard that Iwamasa was fully aware of Perry's history with addiction and was not a trained medical professional. 

Prosecutors were unsparing in their assessment, writing in their sentencing position that rather than helping Perry maintain sobriety, Iwamasa "became his enabler and drug supplier." 

His responsibilities as an assistant had explicitly included coordinating Perry's medical care and ensuring he took only his lawfully prescribed medications. 

He was paid $150,000 a year for the role.

The chain of events that led to Perry's death involved several co-conspirators. 

Physician Salvador Plasencia, who has since surrendered his medical licence — supplied 20 vials, multiple tablets and syringes of ketamine worth $57,000, and personally taught Iwamasa how to administer the drug by injection. 

At one point, Plasencia injected Perry with a dose that caused the actor to "freeze up," prompting the doctor to say "Let's not do that again", yet Iwamasa subsequently arranged a fresh supply through drug counsellor Erik Fleming, who obtained it from Sangha.

Iwamasa's conduct in the aftermath of Perry's death concluded to the original offences. 

When police arrived at the residence following his 911 call, he deliberately omitted ketamine from the list of drugs Perry had been taking and concealed that he had administered injections. 

He also destroyed evidence in the days before Perry's death, calling Fleming to tell him he had "deleted everything."

Sangha is serving 15 years in federal prison. 

Plasencia received two and a half years, and Fleming two years. With Iwamasa now sentenced, the legal chapter of one of Hollywood's most devastating losses is finally closed.