{"id":896,"date":"2026-05-27T19:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T19:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=896"},"modified":"2026-05-27T19:23:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T19:23:01","slug":"matthew-perrys-assistant-gets-3-years-5-months-in-prison-for-central-role-in-his-ketamine-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=896","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Perry\u2019s assistant gets 3 years, 5 months in prison for central role in his ketamine death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Perry poses for a portrait in New York on Feb. 17, 2015. (Photo by Brian Ach\/Invision\/AP, File)<\/small><\/p>\n

2026-05-27T05:53:17Z<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Matthew Perry\u2019s<\/a><\/span> live-in personal assistant, who had a central role in the \u201cFriends\u201d star\u2019s<\/a><\/span> descent into ketamine addiction and injected him with the fatal dose of the drug, was sentenced Wednesday to three years and five months in prison. <\/p>\n

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence to 60-year-old Kenneth Iwamasa<\/a><\/span> in federal court in Los Angeles. He was also sentenced to two years of probation and a $10,000 fine.<\/p>\n

It was the fifth and final sentencing in the 2 1\/2-year investigation and prosecution that followed Perry\u2019s death at age 54 on Oct. 28, 2023. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou were privy to his struggle with addiction,\u201d Judge Garnett said before handing down the sentence. \u201cYour conduct was reckless, not just on the day of his death but in the days leading up to his death.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sentence was exactly what prosecutors had sought, though Garnett disagreed on some of the details. She found that Iwamasa did not abuse a position of trust, which could\u2019ve brought more prison time.<\/p>\n

and she said \u201cthere is no hard evidence that you acted with malicious intent, though some would disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iwamasa was at Perry\u2019s side through the final days of his life, acting as the actor\u2019s enabler, drug messenger and de facto doctor. He was the last person to see Perry alive, and he was the one who found him dead in his Jacuzzi. <\/p>\n

He was the first person to reach a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty in August of 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death, and became their most important witness. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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