Doctor to plead guilty to supplying Matthew Perry with ketamine
A Californian doctor charged with supplying ketamine to the late Friends actor Matthew Perry is set to plead guilty.
In a statement shared on June 16th, federal prosecutors confirmed Dr Salvador Plasencia will plead guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine to the actor. The combined charges could result in Plasencia being sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison.
Plasencia is expected to officially make his plea within the next few weeks, according to the BBC.
It comes after fellow doctor, Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute the drug to Perry last year. Chavez oversaw a ketamine clinic in Los Angeles and confirmed he had sold the lozenge-based version of the drug to Plasencia, who then supplied it to Perry.
Chavez shared text messages from Plasencia to him with prosecutors, including one message which reads, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.” According to filings, later that day, the two physicians met and exchanged at least four doses of ketamine.
Prosecutors also state that Plasencia sold the drugs to Perry for $4,500 and allegedly asked Chavez if he could become the actor’s “go-to” source for supplying the substance. Perry had met Plasencia around a month before his death.
In total, five people have been charged in connection with Perry’s death. The only charged individual to plead not guilty is Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege provided Perry with the dose that killed him. Sangha is set to face a trial in August.
On October 28th, 2023, Perry was found dead in his hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home by his assistant. Following a postmortem, it was ruled that ketamine was the main cause of his death.
In May 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department opened its investigation into Perry’s cause of death, seeking to find out how the actor gained access to the elevated levels of ketamine in his bloodstream, far higher than the infusion therapy he’d been using as a treatment for depression. This then resulted in five individuals being charged, including Plasencia.
The case is ongoing.
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