Multiple arrests have been made in connection with the death of beloved “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, Eyewitness News has learned.
The arrests were made in an early morning operation Thursday and include a doctor, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Federal charges have been filed in the case and are expected to be publicly announced at a 10 a.m. news conference with the U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles and the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In June, the investigation into the ketamine supplied to Perry before his untimely death was nearing its end, and law enforcement sources at the time told ABC News it would be up to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to decide if multiple people could be charged as a result.
The investigation has been ongoing since Perry’s death and includes the Los Angeles Police Department, DEA, U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The U.S. attorney could also refer the case back to state prosecutors if they do not choose to file federal charges.
An assistant found the 54-year-old Perry face down in his hot tub on Oct. 28, and paramedics who were called immediately declared him dead.
The autopsy listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects as contributing factors not related to the immediate cause of death. The manner of death was ruled an accident.
Perry had high levels of ketamine in his blood, likely lapsed into unconsciousness and then went under water, according to the autopsy.
He was reported to have been receiving ketamine infusions for depression and anxiety, with the most recent therapy coming 1 1/2 weeks before his death, according to the autopsy report. However, the medical examiner wrote the ketamine in his system at death could not have been from that infusion therapy, as ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours or less.
Perry had years of struggles with addiction dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest television stars of his generation as Chandler Bing alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004
