Eric Fleming, one of five people charged in the overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry, has now been sentenced to two years in federal prison.
According to reports, the 56-year-old drug counselor and TV director was sentenced on Wednesday, May 13, to 24 months in federal prison and a $200 fine along with three years of supervised release.
Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Perry, who was 54, was found dead in his backyard Jacuzzi in Pacific Palisades, California on October 28, 2023. An autopsy revealed that he died from the acute effects of ketamine as well as other factors including drowning and coronary artery disease.
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Eric Fleming: 5 things to know
1. Fleming was not just a drug counselor, he was also a renowned TV director in Hollywood. He directed the children’s fantasy comedy My Brother the Pig in 1999, starring a young Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes. That same year, he also directed the road movie Tyrone starring Coolio and Kevin Connolly.
2. Fleming also tried his hand at reality television. He served as a producer in 2003 on the inaugural season of The Surreal Life, a reality show that featured celebrities such as Corey Feldman, Gabrielle Carteris, Vince Neil, and MC Hammer. He later attempted to start a production company called Rich Hippy with Sydney Holland, although the venture was ultimately unsuccessful.
3. Fleming had obtained the ketamine that killed Perry from Jasveen Sangha, a Los Angeles woman who became known as the “Ketamine Queen” in the case. According to People, he admitted to distributing the drug to Perry and supplying 50 vials of ketamine to Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
4. According to court documents obtained by People, Perry had become seriously addicted to ketamine in the weeks before his death, sometimes injecting the drug six to eight times a day. Prosecutors described Fleming and his co-defendants as people who “cared more about profiting from Mr. Perry than caring about the welfare of the people.” Fleming himself admitted this.
5. Fleming is the fourth of five defendants to be sentenced in the case. Jasveen Sangha, the “Ketamine Queen”, received the harshest punishment, 15 years in prison. Dr. Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and Dr. Mark Chávez received eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release. A fifth defendant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who was Perry’s personal live-in assistant, will be sentenced on May 27.
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Fleming’s sentencing brings the years-long legal saga closer to its end. With only Iwamasa’s sentence remaining, all five men held responsible for Matthew Perry’s death will face justice. As Fleming himself wrote to the judge: “I hope my sentence will provide some measure of justice and peace for all who loved Matt,” according to the BBC.