Matthew Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa sentenced to 41 months in prison for supplying ketamine linked to actor’s death

Actor Matthew Perry’s live-in assistant has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for supplying ketamine, which led to the star’s overdose death in 2023, ending an important chapter in the case.Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiring to distribute ketamine causing death. He will also serve two years in prison and pay a $10,000 fine when he was sentenced in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday.In October 2023, Perry was found dead in a hot tub in his backyard in Los Angeles. Medical officials later ruled his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine, with drowning listed as a contributing factor.Iwamasa, who had no medical training, injected Perry with ketamine and worked with two doctors to provide him with more than $50,000 worth of the drug in the weeks before his death. He admitted to multiple injections, including multiple on the day Perry died.In handing down the sentence, Judge Sherlyn Pease Garnett said Iwazheng was aware of Perry’s drug addiction and withheld evidence after Perry’s death.In court, Iwa addressed Perry’s family directly.“I’m so sorry to all of you. I’m so sorry for my illegal behavior and I will always regret it. I will take it to my grave,” he said.He added: “I hope I can be a warning to those in my position so they can make better choices.”He also said he was “very, very sorry” and offered his condolences to the family.Before sentencing, Perry’s family submitted victim impact statements. His sister, Caitlin Morrison, wrote, “I have no sympathy for Kenny Iwamasa” and accused him of abandoning Perry in a vulnerable state. Another sister, Madeline Morrison, said she believed he was “more guilty” than the other defendants in the case.Their mother, Suzanne Morrison, said Iwamasa’s responsibility was to support her son in recovering from drug addiction, but he instead encouraged it. “We trusted a man with no conscience and my son paid the price,” she wrote.The case is just a small part of the network accused of supplying ketamine to Perry. Multiple defendants profited from his drug addiction.Several others have already been sentenced. Jasveen Sangha of Los Angeles, known as the “Ketamine Queen,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Dr. Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Dr. Mark Chavez was placed on house arrest and supervised release. Another defendant, Eric Fleming, was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this month.All five defendants in the case have pleaded guilty to relevant charges.