Matthew Perry’s friends are “saddened” over the latest developments in the investigation into his overdose death.
Last week, five people were charged in connection with the actor’s shocking death last October at age 54.
Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, doctors Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia, alleged street dealer Erik Fleming and so-called “Ketamine Queen” of Los Angeles Jasveen Sangha are all being held legally responsible for Perry’s ketamine overdose by prosecutors.
The arrests, a source told People Tuesday, “have brought back a lot of feelings” for Perry’s friends who are still mourning his death.
“Matthew did have true friends that loved and cared about him,” the insider said. “They would have all tried to help him if he’d reached out.”
“It makes them sad that he was surrounded by enablers,” added the source.
On October 28, Perry was found floating face down in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades, Calif., home.
His cause of death was later attributed to the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine.
An investigation found that the “Friends” alum — who was open abut his struggles with addiction — allegedly had Iwamasa, who was his assistant since 1994 and had no medical training, administer him with at least 27 shots of ketamine in the final five days of his life.
“Shoot me up with a big one,” Perry apparently told Iwamasa the day of his death.
After injecting Perry with the third dose of ketamine in as little as six hours, Iwamasa left the house to run errands and came home to find Perry dead in his hot tub.
According to prosecutors, Plasencia and Chavez supplied Perry with about 20 vials of ketamine in exchange for around $55,000 in cash.
Fleming allegedly sourced his supply of the drug from Sangha and gave it to Perry, who was undergoing weeks of ketamine therapy for depression.
At the time of his death, Perry had about 3.54 micrograms per milliliter of ketamine in his bloodstream — nearly three times the amount normally prescribed.
Plascencia and Sangha are both charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Fleming, Iwamasa and Chavez have all copped plea deals in exchange for pleading guilty to various charges include conspiracy to distribute ketamine and conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.
Fleming and Iwamasa will face up to 25 years and 15 years, respectively, at sentencing. Chavez faces 10 years behind bars.
After the charges were announced, Perry’s family told NBC News in a statement, “We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously. We look forward to justice taking its course.”
