Matthew Perry's assistant jailed for 41 months over actor's ketamine death

Kenneth Iwamasa, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, said he "will forever regret" his actions. Matthew Perry's assistant jailed for 41 months over actor's ketamine death What it was like inside court as Matthew Perry's assistant was sentenced Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Actor Matthew Perry, in dark glasses and a grey blazer, smiles against the orange and pink backdrop during filming of the Graham Norton Show in 2016. Watch: What it was like inside court as Matthew Perry's assistant was sentenced Split screen of a woman outside in a green shirt and a man indoors in a grey suit. ​​The live-in personal assistant to Friends star Matthew Perry has been sentenced to 41 months in prison, capping a multi-year legal saga surrounding the actor's death. ​​Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, who injected Perry with ketamine, worked with two doctors to provide the actor with more than $50,000 (£38,000) of the drug in the weeks before his death, prosecutors said. Iwamasa had no medical training. ​​Perry was found dead in his backyard hot tub in Los Angeles in October 2023. Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and faced a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. He is slated to report to prison on 17 July. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett pointed to Iwamasa's knowledge of Perry's struggle with addiction, as well as concealing evidence after his death, when handing down the sentence. In a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday, Iwamasa took the stand and turned around to face the actor's family. "I'm so sorry to all of you. I'm just so sorry to have done illegal acts that I will forever regret. I will take it to my grave," he said. "I hope I'll be a cautionary tale to someone who's in my position to make better choices." He added that he was "horribly, horribly sorry" and offered them his condolences. What to know about ketamine after Matthew Perry’s death Prosecutors sought a prison term of three years and five months for Iwamasa, who was the first of five defendants to reach a plea deal in the case and the last to be sentenced. Ahead of Iwamasa's sentencing, Perry's mother and sisters submitted letters thanking the judge and telling her where they stood on Iwamasa's sentencing. "I have no sympathy for Kenny Iwamasa," wrote his sister Caitlin Morrison, adding that when Iwamasa left Perry the night he died, he was "either escaping from something he knew he had done or he was willfully abandoning a vulnerable person in a dangerous situation". Perry's other sister Madeline Morrison told the judge in a letter that she believed Iwamasa was "more culpable" than ketamine dealer Jasveen Sangha. Suzanne Morrison said that Iwamasa's "most important job" was to be her son's companion and guardian in his fight against addiction and ensure that Perry remained drug free. She added that Iwamasa knew that if he felt unduly pressured, he could call a number of people in Perry's orbit and "reinforcements would be on the way, and his job would be safe". Instead of protecting Perry, he aided and abetted illegal drug taking and arranged for one source of supply, then another, she wrote. "We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price," she wrote. Matthew Perry, centre, in an episode of NBC's Friends Matt LeBlanc as 'Joey Tribbiani', Matthew Perry as 'Chandler Bing', Courteney Cox as 'Monica Geller', Jennifer Aniston as 'Rachel Green', Lisa Kudrow as 'Phoebe Buffay' on the set of Friends. Iwamasa admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry, including administering multiple injections on the day Perry died. Iwamasa admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry, including administering multiple injections on Medical officials said the actor's overdose death was caused by the acute effects of the dissociative anaesthetic. Drowning was listed as a contributing factor. "You were privy to his trouble with addiction," Judge Garnett told Iwamasa ahead of sentencing. "You knew he should not have used ketamine at the amount he did." The judge said that Iwamasa saw the negative effects yet continued to procure and inject Perry with ketamine, including on the day he died, when he left him alone after giving him a large dose. "Your conduct was reckless the day of his death and the days leading up to that you made concrete steps to get rid of the evidence," she said, adding that he repeatedly lied to police about his involvement in his death. Kenneth Iwamasa (left) will report to prison on 17 July Kenneth Iwamasa, in a grey suit and tie and light rimmed glasses, looks to the right stands next to his lawyer, who has his hands around his shoulder. A media camera and a microphone are in the frame. Speaking outside the courtroom on Wednesday, Iwamasa said: "I'm horribly sorry and I wish I could turn back time." His attorney Alan Eisner told reporters that Iwamasa acted at all times at the direction of Perry, who had agency to say no, and he argued to the judge of an uneven power dynamic between the assistant and his employer. Perry had asked Iwamasa to inject him and his assistant was "incapable" of saying no, but should have pushed back, Eisner said. "This is not an incident that falls solely on the shoulders of Mr Iwamasa," his attorney said. Jasveen Sangha posing for a picture on social media 'Ketamine Queen' sentenced to 15 years in Matthew Perry overdose death US officials say a group of defendants supplied ketamine to Perry and exploited his drug addiction for profit, which led to the actor's overdose death. All five defendants agreed to plead guilty to their respective charges in the case. In April, Sangha, a Los Angeles woman dubbed the "Ketamine Queen", was sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling drugs that led to the actor's death. In April, Sangha, a Los Angeles woman dubbed , was sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling drugs that led to the actor's death. Dr Salvador Plasencia, who supplied the actor with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison. Dr Salvador Plasencia, who supplied the actor with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was Also in December, Dr Mark Chavez, a California doctor who sold ketamine to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Also in December, Dr Mark Chavez, a California doctor who sold ketamine to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention Erik Fleming, who sourced the drug from southern California's so-called Ketamine Queen, was sentenced earlier this month to two years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $200 penalty. Erik Fleming, who sourced the drug from southern California's so-called Ketamine Queen, was sentenced earlier this month to two years in prison , three years of supervised release and a $200 penalty. Actor Matthew Perry, wearing a grey suit jacket, speaking onstage at the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, California Matthew Perry's stepmother says 'Ketamine Queen' should get maximum sentence A fully clothed woman sits in the bath, her legs draped over the side, with an orange handbag hooked onto her ankle. There are plants behind the bathtub 'Ketamine Queen' spiralled before Matthew Perry death, friends tell BBC The BBC's Ros Atkins and BBC Verify sifted through thousands of the president's posts. BBC's Shaimaa Khalil was in the room as Kenneth Iwamansa, who injected Perry with ketamine, was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Nine people remain missing at the site of the state's worst industrial accident in modern history. Fresh revelations come after two women told the BBC they had been raped on the Channel 4 reality show. About 50,000 people who were evacuated have been allowed to return home after a period of worry. 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