The personal assistant to the actor Matthew Perry who injected him with the ketamine that killed him was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in prison.
The assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. In addition to 41 months in prison, his sentence includes two years of supervised release, a $10,000 fine and a mandatory special assessment of $100.
Mr. Iwamasa is the last of the five people charged in connection with Mr. Perry’s death to be sentenced, seemingly bringing a yearslong legal saga to a close.
Mr. Perry, who starred in the 1990s sitcom “Friends,” became increasingly reliant on ketamine before his death on Oct. 28, 2023. Mr. Iwamasa has admitted that in the days beforehand, he injected the actor with at least 27 shots of ketamine, including at least three on the day that he died.
Prosecutors say that Mr. Iwamasa spent tens of thousands of dollars on dozens of vials of ketamine for Mr. Perry over a span of a few weeks.
According to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office, Mr. Perry’s death was caused by the “acute effects” of ketamine. The office added that drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of an opioid, buprenorphine, had contributed. Mr. Perry was found floating face down in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles.
Mr. Iwamasa knew Mr. Perry for decades, and became his live-in assistant in 2022. Prosecutors have asserted that he was well aware of his boss’s yearslong struggle with drug addiction, even being cautioned by a doctor about renewed concerns regarding the actor’s drug use. They also say Mr. Iwamasa ignored warning signs, noting that he had twice found Mr. Perry unconscious inside of his home and had witnessed him “freeze up” after a large ketamine injection, losing the ability to speak.
In a sentencing memo, prosecutors argued that Mr. Iwamasa had “violated his position of trust.” But because he had cooperated with the case, the government sought a 41-month prison sentence, cutting it roughly in half.
“Matthew trusted Kenny. We trusted Kenny,” Mr. Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, wrote in a letter to the court. “Kenny’s most important job — by far — was to be my son’s companion and guardian in his fight against addiction.”
She added, “But instead of protecting Matthew, he aided and abetted illegal drug taking, arranged for one source of supply, then another.”
Mr. Iwamasa’s lawyers had sought a sentence of six months in prison and six months of home confinement, arguing that as Mr. Perry’s personal assistant, their client was not in a position to refuse him.
Mr. Iwamasa was “not someone who forced drugs on an unwilling victim,” Alan Eisner, a lawyer for Mr. Iwamasa, told the court on Wednesday, comparing Mr. Iwamasa to Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s butler. His client “idolized Mr. Perry,” Mr. Eisner said.
At one point, the judge, Sherilyn Peace Garnett of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, interjected, disagreeing that Mr. Iwamasa lacked agency in the relationship. He was “unwilling” — not “unable” — to say no, Judge Garnett said.
Mr. Eisner, though, was insistent, asserting that Mr. Perry had instructed Mr. Iwamasa to break the law. “Mr. Perry was not a bystander here,” he said, adding, “Mr. Perry was not blameless.”
Mr. Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, addressed the court during the proceedings, as did Lisa Ferguson, the executor of Mr. Perry’s estate. Both of them said they believed that Mr. Iwamasa had been motivated by a desire to maintain a well-appointed lifestyle underwritten by Mr. Perry — one that he neither earned nor deserved.
Mr. Morrison and Ms. Ferguson added that Mr. Iwamasa had appeared to have enjoyed being in complete control of Mr. Perry’s life. At any time, they said, he could have called a member of the Perry family to warn them about Mr. Perry’s troubles.
Ms. Ferguson spent several minutes admonishing Mr. Iwamasa as he sat some three feet from her, leading Mr. Iwamasa to at times lean back in his chair and grimace. He was “the monster who killed” Mr. Perry, she said, adding: “Matthew deserved to live. You don’t.”
Mr. Iwamasa has not spoken publicly about his involvement since it was announced that he had been charged in Mr. Perry’s death. Given an opportunity to address the court on Wednesday, he turned to members of Mr. Perry’s family sitting in the courtroom’s front row. “I’m so sorry to all of you,” he said, adding, “I’ll take that to my grave.”
According to court documents, Mr. Iwamasa earned $150,000 a year as Mr. Perry’s assistant. His responsibilities varied but included “those related to Mr. Perry’s medical care.”
In court documents, prosecutors said that when Mr. Iwamasa was initially questioned by the police, he “concealed” the fact that he had injected his boss with ketamine. A few months later, when the authorities executed search warrants at his home, he “changed his story and disclosed the partial truth,” according to prosecutors. He ultimately came clean and admitted his role in Mr. Perry’s death.
Eventually, prosecutors say, Mr. Iwamasa provided useful information about his involvement in the scheme to acquire ketamine for Mr. Perry, as well as that of others who have since pleaded guilty and been sentenced in the case.
Prosecutors have said that Mr. Iwamasa worked through two channels to obtain ketamine for Mr. Perry. In the first, a drug dealer, Jasveen Sangha, sold ketamine to an acquaintance of Mr. Perry’s, Erik Fleming, who then sold it to Mr. Iwamasa. In the second, two doctors, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia, worked together to obtain ketamine to sell to Mr. Perry via Mr. Iwamasa.
An indictment said coded language was used to discuss drug deals, referring to bottles of ketamine as “Dr Pepper,” “cans” and “bots.” Mr. Iwamasa bought some of the vials after midnight at the Santa Monica Pier, according to court documents. At one point, he drove Mr. Perry to a parking lot in Long Beach, Calif., so Mr. Plasencia could inject Mr. Perry with ketamine in the back seat of the vehicle.
In court on Wednesday, Mr. Eisner said that, according to his client, Mr. Perry had insisted to Mr. Iwamasa: “No one ever died of a ketamine overdose.”
Mr. Chavez and Mr. Plasencia, who have both surrendered their medical licenses, were sentenced in December. Mr. Plasencia received 30 months in prison, and Mr. Chavez received three years of supervised release, including eight months of home detention. Ms. Sangha was sentenced in April to 15 years in prison. This month, Mr. Fleming was sentenced to two years.
In her letter to the court, Ms. Morrison made clear that, regardless of the sentence Mr. Iwamasa received, “closure” did not exist for her.
“Ask any mother whose child has been torn away so mercilessly,” she wrote. “Nothing takes this pain away, nor will it, I am sure, for as long as I live.”
Matt Stevens is a Times reporter who writes about arts and culture from Los Angeles.
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