Drug counselor who delivered ketamine dose that killed Matthew Perry gets two years

"Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence to 56-year-old Erik Fleming in a federal court in Los Angeles. It's truly a nightmare I can't wake up from, Fleming told the judge before the sentence. I'm haunted by the mistakes I made. He wore a black suit and spoke at the podium with a deep, somber voice. Fleming was the fourth defendant sentenced of the five who have pleaded guilty in prosecutions over the actor's 2023 death in the Jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home."

"Fleming connected Perry to Jasveen Sangha, the convicted drug dealer whom prosecutors called the Ketamine Queen. She was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison. Fleming gave up Sangha to investigators as soon as they contacted him and in August 2024 became the first defendant to plead guilty, admitting to one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. That was before arrests in the case were even announced, and Wednesday's court appearance was his first since his role became public knowledge."

"Prosecutors said in a sentencing memo before the hearing that while Fleming's exceptional cooperation should bring a lighter sentence, his role as a drug counselor who deliberately undertook to sell illegal street drugs to a victim who had a public, well-documented battle with drug addiction should count against him, even if Perry wasn't one of his regular clients. Defense lawyers had asked for a sentence of three months in prison and nine months in a residential drug treatment facility, saying in their sentencing memo that Fleming has gone to extreme lengths to atone for his criminal conduct."

Erik Fleming, a licensed drug addiction counselor, was sentenced in federal court in Los Angeles to two years in prison for distributing ketamine that killed Matthew Perry. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett imposed the sentence after Fleming pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Prosecutors said Fleming connected Perry to Jasveen Sangha, a convicted drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen,” and that Fleming deliberately undertook to sell illegal street drugs to a person with a well-documented addiction history. Fleming provided information to investigators as soon as they contacted him and cooperated extensively, which prosecutors said warranted a lighter sentence under federal guidelines. Defense attorneys sought a much shorter term, citing extreme remorse and efforts to atone.

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