LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dr. Salvador Plasencia, a physician charged with distributing ketamine to "Friends" star Matthew Perry in the crucial month leading up to his overdose, has agreed to plead guilty. This announcement came through a court agreement filed on Monday in federal court in Los Angeles.
According to the court documents, Plasencia will plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine. In return for this plea, federal prosecutors will drop three additional counts of distribution, as well as two counts of falsifying records. The plea deal carries a maximum prison sentence of 40 years, although Plasencia is expected to formally enter his plea in the coming weeks.
Federal prosecutors disclosed that Plasencia had described Perry in a text message as a "moron" who could be financially exploited. He was targeted in this case alongside a woman alleged to be a ketamine dealer, as well as several other co-defendants. Notably, three defendants, including another physician, had already pleaded guilty last year in exchange for cooperating with the prosecution.
The trial for Plasencia and his co-defendant, Jasveen Sangha, was initially scheduled for August. An inquiry sent to Plasencia’s attorney for commentary has not yet been answered. Perry was found dead by his assistant on October 28, 2023. The medical examiner determined that ketamine, typically administered as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of Perry’s death.
Perry, age 54 at the time of his passing, had been utilizing the drug through his primary physician as part of a legal but off-label treatment for depression, which has seen rising popularity. However, Perry began to seek more ketamine than his doctor was willing to prescribe. In his plea agreement, Plasencia acknowledged that another patient had introduced him to Perry, leading to illegal transactions.
Starting approximately one month before Perry's death, Plasencia supplied the actor with 20 vials of ketamine, totaling 100 mg, in addition to lozenges and syringes. He admitted to recruiting another doctor, Mark Chavez, to help supply the drug. In his communications, Plasencia expressed an eagerness to continue supporting Perry's drug use, allegedly asking Chavez about the potential financial gain from their dealings.
Documents reveal that Plasencia visited Perry's residence on two occasions, administering ketamine injections personally and training Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, on how to inject the drug. Plasencia later provided additional drugs to Iwamasa to further facilitate Perry’s use. It has also been reported that Perry sourced ketamine from another dealer, Sangha, who prosecutors claim sold him the dose that led to his fatal overdose.
Sangha has pleaded not guilty, marking her as the only one among the five charged individuals connected to Perry’s death who has not accepted a plea deal. While she remains in custody awaiting trial, Plasencia was released on bond after his initial court appearances. Another associate of Perry, Erik Fleming, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors to aid their case.
No defendants have received sentencing yet, and Plasencia's plea agreement does not guarantee a specific sentencing outcome. Perry had long battled addiction issues, traced back to his time on "Friends," during which he reached the height of his fame portraying Chandler Bing alongside co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer in the iconic series that aired from 1994 to 2004.
