The “Ketamine Queen” is charged with Matthew Perry’s death

Good morning and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, August 24Here's what you need to know to start the weekend:

Who is the “Ketamine Queen” accused in the death of actor Matthew Perry?

Jasveen Sangha seemed to live the life of an LA influencer, mingling with celebrities on social media posts, sporting fashionable outfits, and flying around the world on luxury vacations.

But federal prosecutors argue that Sangha actually ran a drug business so lucrative that she was known to her customers as the “Ketamine Queen.”

My colleagues Nathan Solis, Hannah Fry, Connor Sheets and Richard Winton this week investigated the charges against Sangha, one of five people charged in the death of actor Matthew Perry. Sangha has pleaded not guilty. Here's what they found:

In the “Sangha Hideout”

Authorities allege Sangha sold drugs from her North Hollywood apartment, which the indictment calls the “Sangha stash.” Court documents describe how she had videos stored on her electronic devices showing herself cooking liquid ketamine on a stove to turn it into powder.

Prosecutors accuse Sangha of “posing as a prominent drug dealer with high-quality goods” but of being aware of the dangers of ketamine.

Sangha is accused of selling ketamine to a man in 2019 who later overdosed. A family member of the man texted Sangha telling her that the ketamine caused the death.

After receiving the text message, the prosecutor said, she did some research on Google: “Can ketamine be listed as the cause of death?[?]”

Search for further suspected victims

Law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said investigators were trying to determine whether other overdose deaths could be linked to Sangha.

But attorney Mark Geragos, whose firm represents Sangha, questions how authorities can determine who supplied a lethal dose of ketamine.

“I've never seen a pathologist who can say, 'I'm going to do an autopsy and find out where these drugs came from.' They can't. It's a tragedy by any standard, but just because it's a tragedy doesn't mean it's a crime,” Geragos told News Nation.

The biggest stories of the week

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

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• Harris set the bar very high for her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, write columnists Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria.
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Column One

Column One is the home of The Times' narrative and in-depth reporting. Here's a great article from this week:

(Marcus Yam/Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

A scout group for young migrants offers refuge in a chaotic cityThe Girl Scouts in this group in one of New York's emergency shelters for migrants know hardship and loss. But at least at the meetings they are allowed to be children.

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How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your weekend

Avantika at her first bar stop, Gyoza Bar, where she ordered dumplings, tsukemen dipping noodles, salmon sashimi, and cold tofu.

(Jane Kim/For The Times)

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(Times staff and news agency photos)

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The Essential California team wishes you a nice weekend

Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor

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