Month: August 2024

Authorities announced on Thursday, Aug. 15 that five people have been charged in connection with the death of Matthew Perry. Perry died on Oct. 28 at age 54 from an accidental drug overdose, with an autopsy report stating that the ‘Friends’ actor passed away from acute effects of ketamine. Other contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease and effects from buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. Per NBC News, two of the suspects are doctors, and one was Perry’s personal assistant.

The Department of Justice announced that the first two defendants in the case are Jasveen Sangha (referred to as “The Ketamine Queen”) and Dr. Salvador Plascencia.  United States Attorney Martin Estrada shared that Sangha is facing one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine Plascencia, a licensed physician, is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, Erik Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez were also charged separately in connection with the actor’s death. Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, with the DOJ press release stating that he “repeatedly” injected Perry with ketamine “without medical training, including performing multiple injections on Perry on October 28, 2023 – the day Perry died.”  Fleming pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Chavez will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

Estrada said during a press conference that the investigation into Perry’s death revealed a “broad underground criminal network responsible for delivering a large quantity of ketamine to Matthew Perry and others,” adding that it was discovered that Perry fell back into addiction in Fall 2023. Said Estrada: “in the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring for his well being.”

The Los Angeles Police Department began an investigation into the star’s death in May. An investigative source with the LAPD said at the time that the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. postal inspectors were also involved in the investigation.

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ABC7 reported that search warrants have been issued by the Los Angeles Police Department, with arrests expected to be imminent in the murder of former ‘General Hospital’ star Johnny Wactor. Police had recently released photos of the suspects and vehicle connected to the murder.

TMZ reported that search warrants were served on gang members early Thursday morning, and several suspects were detained amid the investigation, with multiple arrests are expected. TMZ wrote:  “LAPD has ID’d members of the Florencia 13 gang in connection with Johnny’s murder outside Level 8 in downtown L.A., where he worked,” and revealed that fingerprints found at the scene were key to cracking the case.

Wactor’s murder took place on May 25 while walking back to his car with his co-worker, Anita Joy, after they finished a shift in the middle of the night, and happened upon three men at Wactor’s car.  Wactor initially thought he was getting a ticket but quickly realized the men were trying to steal his catalytic converter from his car. As gunfire erupted, Wactor stepped in front of his friend and was shot while protecting her from a bullet.   Paramedics rushed Wactor to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

At a press conference earlier this week, Wactor’s mother, Scarlett Wactor, urged Mayor Karen Bass and District Attorney George Gascón to strengthen the criminal justice system.  Over the month since his death. Wactor’s friends and former co-workers have kept pressure on police to solve the case, staging protests and sharing his case repeatedly on social media in the hopes that his the murder investigation wasn’t forgotten.

Wactor appeared on nearly 200 episodes of “General Hospital” from 2020-22, with other acting credits including “Westworld,” “The OA,” “NCIS,” “Station 19,” “Criminal Minds” and “Hollywood Girl.”

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Judge Juan Merchan has rejected a third request by the attorneys for former President Donald Trump to remove him in the New York criminal case that convicted Trump on 34 felonies of falsifying business records – the latest attempt to get the judge presiding over his New York criminal case to recuse himself.

Trump’s attorneys have repeatedly argued that Merchan’s daughter’s work as a Democratic consultant created a conflict of interest. Trump’s lawyers first made the request in May 2023, before the case went to trial, arguing that Merchan should step aside because of work Merchan’s daughter had done as a Democratic consultant in support of President Biden. A state ethics panel last year later concluded that “the judge’s impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned based on the judge’s relative’s business and/or political activities.”

After the latest request, Merchan responded that the claims were “noting more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims,” addressed by the previous decisions that “provided nothing new for this Court to consider.” Merchan wrote in the ruling made public Wednesday: “This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear – innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create. Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required. Defense Counsel’s reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing. As such, Defendant’s motion is again DENIED. The court will continue to base its rulings on the evidence and the law, without fear or favor, casting aside undue influence.”

Trump was found guilty of falsifying the records to hide payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, with prosecutors saying that the payments were made to illegally influence the election by preventing voters from learning about Trump’s relationship with Daniels. A unanimous jury found Trump guilty on May 30 of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump has sought to overturn the conviction, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling on “presidential immunity.” Merchan will rule on that effort on Sept. 6.

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Tropical Storm Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday, after bringing “significant flooding” to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands and moved north. The National Hurricane Center shared earlier in the day that Ernesto, located about 175 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 835 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, becoming a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and was traveling northwest at 16 mph. Forecasters expect it to even strengthen more in the coming days.

NHC officials said that they believe the storm will continue to move over the western Atlantic later in the week and be near Bermuda by Friday, with hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 35 miles from the storm’s center and tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 230 miles.

More than 700,000 customers in Puerto Rico – half of all customers on the island – were without power Wednesday, according to LUMA Energy, the private company that operates the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico. In the US Virgin Islands – which includes the island of St. Croix and nearly everyone on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John — with more than 46,000 customers were without power, which is about 92% of the island’s tracked customers, according to PowerOutage.us.

President Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, with the White House saying they were authorizing FEMA to help with storm recovery.  The hurricane center said the storm is expected to produce between 4 and 6 inches of rain over the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and up to 10 inches across southeastern Puerto Rico. Flash flooding and mudslides could occur in the U.S. territories, the hurricane center said, as Ernesto continues bring “ongoing heavy rains.”

Ernesto marks the fifth named storm so far of the Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA has predicted an above-normal season, with 17-25 named storms, eight to 13 hurricanes, and four to seven major hurricanes.

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