Doctor pleads guilty to giving 'Friends' star Matthew Perry ketamine before his death

A doctor has pleaded guilty to illegally giving Matthew Perry, known for starring as Chandler Bing on the sitcom "Friends", the prescription anaesthetic ketamine ahead of his death by overdose in Oct. 2023.

Salvador Plasencia, 43, is one of five people charged in connection with Perry’s death and pleaded guilty on four counts of distribution of ketamine on Jul. 23.

According to CNN, the U.S. Attorney’s office in California stated that Plasencia could face a sentence of up to 40 years, three years of supervised release, and a fine of either US$2 million (S$2.6 million) fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offences, whichever amount is greater.

His attorneys have also relayed his plans to surrender his medical license in the next six weeks.

He will be free on bond ahead of his hearing, scheduled for Dec. 3.

Illegal distribution

Perry, found in his Los Angeles home floating face down in a hot tub by his assistant on Oct. 28, had died from the “acute effects” of ketamine and subsequent drowning, according to an autopsy report released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

In the month leading up to the 54-year-old actor’s death, Plasencia illegally supplied him with 20 vials of ketamine, amounting to 100mg of the drug in total, as well as ketamine lozenges and syringes, The Guardian reported.

Plasencia admitted in his plea agreement that another patient connected him to Perry.

Perry’s previous doctor had been supplying him with ketamine legally as an increasingly common off-label treatment for depression.

However, the actor, whose struggle with addiction dated back to his time on Friends, reportedly started seeking more ketamine than his doctor was willing to prescribe.

A “moron” to exploit

According to a co-defendant, Plasencia had also called the actor a “moron” who could be exploited for money.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” he said in a text message to Mark Chavez, another doctor who prosecutors said supplied Plasencia with ketamine obtained using fraudulent prescriptions.

After Plasencia charged Perry US$4,500 (S$5,742) for the drugs, he allegedly asked Chavez to continue supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to”, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also noted, and Plasencia admitted, that he had continued to allow Perry’s live-in assistant to inject the actor with ketamine, even as he froze up and his blood pressure spiked.

Did not sell the lethal dose

Prosecutors outlining the charges in court before the plea noted that, as emphasised by Plasencia’s lawyers, he did not sell Perry the lethal dose.

They attributed the lethal dose to Jasveen Sangha, an alleged a drug dealer known to customers as the “Ketamine Queen”.

She has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in August, making her the only defendant yet to strike a deal with the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Five people charged

Apart from Sangha and Plasencia, three others were charged in 2024 as part of a network that prosecutors say helped Perry obtain ketamine illicitly.

They include the doctor who sold the drug to Plasencia, the actor’s friend, and his assistant, who had administered the ketamine injections – including several doses on the day he died.

The three pleaded guilty in 2024 under agreements to cooperate with the authorities in building a case against higher-level targets, like Plasencia and Sangha.

Perry had been open about his struggles with addiction that dated back to his time on Friends. Spending an estimated US$9 million (S$11.5 million) in efforts to get sober, he endured 15 stints in rehab, 65 in detox centres and about 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings – a fellowship for people to work on their drinking issues together.

“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said while announcing the charges in 2024. “They knew what they were doing was wrong.”

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Top image via Matthew Perry/Facebook & Malibu Canyon Urgent Care