A physician pleaded guilty Wednesday to giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month main up to the “Friends” star’s overdose death.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia grew to become the fourth of the 5 individuals charged in reference to Perry’s death to plead guilty. He stood subsequent to his lawyer and admitted guilt to 4 counts to Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in federal courtroom in Los Angeles.
Dr. Plasencia, 43, was to have gone on trial in August till the physician agreed final month to plead guilty to 4 counts of distribution of ketamine, in accordance to the signed doc filed in federal courtroom in Los Angeles.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia leaves federal courtroom after pleading guilty to 4 counts of distributing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before his death, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on July 23, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
He spoke solely to reply the choose’s questions. When requested if his legal professionals had thought of all the chances of pleas and sentencing in the case, Dr. Plasencia replied, “They’ve considered everything.”
He had beforehand pleaded not guilty, however in change for the guilty pleas prosecutors have agreed to drop three further counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of falsifying information.
Prosecutors outlined the costs in courtroom before the plea, and stated, as Dr. Plasencia’s legal professionals have emphasised, that he didn’t promote Perry the dose that killed the actor.
They described, and Dr. Plasencia admitted, that Perry froze up and his blood strain spiked when the physician gave him one injection, however Dr. Plasencia nonetheless left extra ketamine for Perry’s assistant to inject.
In courtroom, Perry was referred to solely as “victim MP”.
The prices can carry a most sentence of 40 years in jail, and there’s no assure Dr. Plasencia will get much less, however he is seemingly to. He has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest in August, and might be allowed to stay free till his December 3 sentencing.
Dr. Plasencia left the courthouse along with his legal professionals with out talking to reporters gathered exterior.
The solely remaining defendant who has not reached an settlement with the US Attorney’s Office is Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors allege is a drug seller referred to as the “Ketamine Queen” and bought Perry the deadly dose. Her trial is scheduled to start subsequent month. She has pleaded not guilty.
According to prosecutors and co-defendants who reached their very own offers, Dr. Plasencia illegally equipped Perry with a considerable amount of ketamine beginning a couple of month before his death on Oct 28, 2023.
According to a co-defendant, Dr. Plasencia in a textual content message known as the actor a “moron” who could possibly be exploited for cash.
Perry’s private assistant, his good friend, and one other physician all agreed to plead guilty final yr in change for his or her cooperation as the federal government sought to make their case in opposition to bigger targets, Dr. Plasencia and Sangha. None have been sentenced but.
Perry was discovered lifeless by the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. The health worker dominated that ketamine, usually used as a surgical anesthetic, was the first reason for death.
The actor had been utilizing the drug by means of his common physician in a authorized however off-label remedy for despair, which has turn out to be more and more frequent. Perry, 54, started in search of extra ketamine than his physician would give him.
Dr. Plasencia admitted in his plea settlement that one other affected person linked him with Perry, and that beginning a couple of month before Perry’s death, he illegally equipped the actor with 20 vials of ketamine totalling 100 mg of the drug, together with ketamine lozenges and syringes.
He admitted to enlisting one other physician, Mark Chavez, to provide the drug for him, in accordance to the courtroom filings.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Dr. Plasencia texted Dr. Chavez, in accordance to Chavez’s plea settlement.
After selling the medicine to Perry for $4,500, Dr. Plasencia allegedly requested Dr. Chavez if he may preserve supplying them so they might turn out to be Perry’s “go-to,” prosecutors stated.
Perry struggled with habit for years, courting again to his time on “Friends,” when he grew to become one of many greatest stars of his era as Chandler Bing.
He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.
