Criminal Charges for Matthew Perry’s Death Could Be Coming “Any Day Now”
Criminal charges surrounding Matthew Perry’s death will be filed any day now.
The actor, who played Chandler in the popular sitcom Friends, was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his LA home in December last year. He was believed to have drowned according to a report by TMZ, with no drugs present at the scene to indicate otherwise. His autopsy later revealed he suffered acute effects after taking ketamine.
The actor had been pretty vocal about using ketamine infusion therapy. He even mentioned it in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
What caused alarm among investigators was that his last session was a week and a half before. However, the level of drugs present in his system was in the range used to initiate general anesthesia among patients undergoing surgery.
Ketamine metabolizes quickly so his treatment didn’t cause his death. So what did?
The Los Angeles Police Department started a joint criminal inquiry with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and United States Postal Service (USPS) to determine how the late actor got his hands on the prescription drug.
Tre Lovell, a veteran entertainment attorney, told The Sun that arrests are imminent. “This investigation has been going on for a long time, and the leaks are starting to come out, which are probably intentional,” he shared.
“There are several ways to impose criminal liability, either through the distribution of a controlled substance, an unlawful act that rose to criminal negligence or recklessness, and even in some cases involuntary manslaughter and mail fraud,” he added.
“The reason for this is because there’s a big policy now to attack this kind of drug distribution, with fentanyl at the top of the chain, and these other controlled substances that are floating around, like ketamine,” Lovell explained.
His statement comes two months after a law enforcement source told PEOPLE that the investigation was “nearing its conclusion.” They also made it clear that the US Attorney’s Office will ultimately determine whether or not to press charges.
But that doesn’t mean the drug dealers are in the clear.
Tracy Walder, a former CIA officer and FBI special agent, told Page Six that several people could be charged. “Intent is going to be the question,” Walder said.
“They obviously knew what they were doing was wrong [by drug dealing]. However, did they actively know that by procuring this it would kill him?,” she continued. Since Perry had taken the ketamine himself, the charge will be reduced to involuntary manslaughter, a crime that carries a sentence of up to five years.
