Friends of the ‘Ketamine Queen’ charged with selling drugs that killed Matthew Perry hit back today, defending her as ‘uplifting,’ ‘bubbly,’ ‘sweet’ and ‘spiritual’.
One longtime friend said the alleged deadly drug dealer, Jasveen Sangha, gave ‘no inkling’ she was facing severe drug charges at her birthday party just days ago.
And another buddy suggested Perry was at fault, telling DailyMail.com that ‘at the end of the day, nobody’s forcing anybody to do drugs.’
Prosecutors announced 18 charges against Sangha, 41, on Thursday, along with two doctors who allegedly supplied Perry ketamine illegally, a middleman who trafficked it, and Perry’s assistant who injected him with the tranquilizing drug the day he died.
Sangha pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles federal court today, and was jailed awaiting trial.
Jasveen Sangha, 41, is facing 18 criminal charges related to the overdose death of Matthew Perry
Sangha’s friends have suggested the Friends star is to blame for his death
Interior designer Clancy Carter, who has been friends with Sangha since 2008, told DailyMail.com that she was surprised her friend would get mixed up in large-scale drug dealing – as she came from a rich family who supported her.
‘She’s always in the nicest designer clothes. She has a family that takes care of her,’ the Orange County mother of three said. ‘She has never been the type of person who needed money.
‘She has property in the UK. She’s always traveling and doing fun things with her family.
‘I would never guess she would do something like this at all. But if they have evidence connected directly to her I’m completely shocked.’
She described Sangha as ‘uplifting, bubbly and sweet’ and ‘spiritual’, but added, ‘either way someone innocent died, someone who needed proper attention and care. So it’s concerning for sure.’
Interior designer Clancy Carter, who has been friends with Sangha since 2008, told DailyMail.com that she was surprised her friend would get mixed up in large-scale drug dealing
According to an indictment filed Thursday, drug runner Eric Fleming texted Perry’s assistant Kenny Iwamasa on October 11 last year, telling him that Sangha ‘only deal[s] with high end and celebs’ when supplying drugs.
Prosecutors then detailed sales of 50 vials of liquid ketamine Sangha allegedly sold to Perry via his assistant.
Carter told DailyMail.com that her friend did indeed mix with high society in Hollywood – working in marketing and event planning for the rich and famous, and had been to past Golden Globes and Oscars ceremonies with Carter.
‘She knows a lot of people in the industry,’ Carter said. ‘Her and I have been to the Golden Globes and the Oscars. There’s a lot of celebrities she was mingling with.
‘I care for her deeply. I’d hate to see something terrible happen to her regardless of the case.’
Artist Heather Pardieu, 42, said she had never seen Sangha dealing or being involved with drugs.
Artist Heather Pardieu, 42, also said she was surprised to learn of the charges against her friend Sangha – but suggested that at least some responsibility for Perry’s death lay with the actor himself.
‘She’s a friend of mine,’ Pardieu told DailyMail.com. ‘I mean, at the end of the day, nobody’s forcing anybody to do drugs.’
She added that she had never seen Sangha dealing or being involved with drugs.
But prosecutors say that when the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other law enforcement raided her North Hollywood home in March, they found thousands of pills and kilograms of powder.
‘During the search, law enforcement seized significant quantities of illegal drugs, including approximately 1,978 grams of orange pills that field tested positive for methamphetamine, 79 bottles containing a clear liquid that field tested positive for ketamine, and various other suspect narcotics,’ DEA Agent Tyler Abrego wrote in a March 20 criminal complaint.
The agent wrote there were texts on her phone about selling ketamine, as well as videos of her ‘cooking’ ketamine, the basis for a slew of drug charges filed even before her alleged involvement in Perry’s death was revealed.
Friends say Sangha hid the impending charges and dire legal situation from them expertly, throwing a birthday party earlier this month and giving no hint of the trouble she was in.
Los Angeles realtor Greg Wasik said Sangha seemed normal and serene when she celebrated her 41st birthday with friends at a bar in Hollywood just days ago
Los Angeles realtor Greg Wasik told DailyMail.com that he was shocked to learn his friend of several years had been indicted for selling drugs that killed Perry.
Wasik said Sangha seemed normal and serene when she celebrated her 41st birthday with friends at a bar in Hollywood just days ago.
‘I was at her birthday party just the other day and there was no inkling of anything like this going on in her life,’ he said. ‘She was definitely just a pretty normal person I’ve known for years.’
Wasik said he met Sangha through dance music events they frequented, attended her birthday party this month as well as a more lavish 1970s-themed event for her 40th last year, where Sangha dressed in sequins, carried a pimp-style cane and posed next to a high-end Mercedes.
Prosecutors argued Sangha, who has a wealthy family and dual citizenship with the UK, posed a flight risk. Judge Alka Sagar agreed and jailed her ahead of an October trial.