Matthew Perry’s Doctor Agrees to Plead Guilty, Facing Up to 40 Years in Jail
Salvador Plasencia, Matthew Perry’s doctor, agreed to plead guilty to four criminal counts of distributing ketamine, per the New York Times on June 16. He faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine. The former Friends star died on October 28, 2023, from the “acute effects” of ketamine. In the weeks leading up to Perry’s death, Plasencia illegally gave him the drug, driving to Perry’s home and a parking lot to administer it, per the Times. According to his plea agreement, Plasencia gave Perry 20 vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges, and syringes between September 30 and October 12, 2023, per ABC News. Dr. Plasencia, who ran an urgent care in Calabasas, California, was set to go to trial in August 2025 for the case.
The plea agreement says that Plasencia met Perry after another unidentified patient introduced them, telling Plasencia that Perry was a “‘high-profile person’ who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay ‘cash and lots of thousands’ for ketamine treatment,” per ABC News. After meeting Perry, Plasencia approached Dr. Mark Chavez, who previously ran a ketamine clinic, and bought the ketamine from him to give to Perry.
Plasencia is the fourth person to plead guilty for crimes connected to Perry’s death. The previous three were Chavez; Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who bought Perry ketamine; and Perry’s friend and dealer Erik Fleming. Jasveen Sangha, the so-called Ketamine Queen who allegedly provided Perry with the ketamine that killed him, is charged but has pleaded not guilty, per BBC. Fleming admitted to distributing the ketamine that killed Perry, claiming he purchased it from Sangha. She is scheduled to go to trial in August, per ABC News, and is accused of selling over 50 vials to Perry, via Fleming and Iwamasa, in a span of two weeks. Chavez’s sentencing is scheduled for September, while Iwamasa’s and Fleming’s are both scheduled for November.
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