Doctor to plead guilty in Perry ketamine case

Salvador Plasencia, the main doctor charged in the ketamine overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry, will plead guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.

Plasencia “has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison,” the DOJ said.

Plasencia allegedly bought ketamine from Dr. Mark Chavez, who pleaded guilty last October, and sold it to Perry at inflated prices. Prosecutors say Plasencia administered the drug by injection during home visits and distributed 20 vials over two weeks in fall 2023.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia wrote in a text shown by prosecutors.

Perry, 54, was found dead in his Los Angeles home’s hot tub in October 2023. An autopsy revealed high ketamine levels. Perry had been receiving supervised ketamine treatments for depression but reportedly became addicted.

Five people have been charged in connection with Perry’s death. Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen” accused of supplying the fatal dose, has pleaded not guilty. Perry’s personal assistant and another man pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

Perry gained worldwide fame as Chandler Bing on Friends but struggled with addiction for years. In his 2022 memoir, he wrote, “I have mostly been sober since 2001, save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps.”