Dr. Salvador Plasencia has agreed to plead guilty to distributing the drugs to actor Matthew Perry, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stated on Monday.
Plasencia is one of the two doctors charged in connection with the ketamine-related death of the actor.
In the coming weeks, he is expected to formally plead guilty to four counts for the charge of distributing ketamine. According to federal prosecutors, each count carries a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
Five People Charged Following Overdose Death of Matthew Perry
Plasencia is among five people charged in the aftermath of Perry’s death. The 54-year-old “Friends” star who died on October 28, 2023, was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles residence. His autopsy later confirmed that Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine.
Plasencia operated an urgent care clinic in Malibu at the time of the incident. He was initially scheduled to go on trial in August. His plea follows the earlier guilty plea of Dr. Mark Chavez. Chavez is the second doctor charged in the Matthew Perry death case.
Chavez pleaded guilty in October 2024 to distributing ketamine. He previously ran a ketamine clinic and is scheduled to be sentenced in September. Chavez submitted a false prescription under the name of a former patient, according to court records. He obtained the drug under a false prescription and supplied ketamine to Plasencia.
Matthew Perry Death: Plasencia’s Plea Agreement
Plasencia distributed 20 vials of ketamine, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes, to Matthew Perry, according to the plea agreement records filed on Monday. Between September 30, 2023, and October 12, 2023, He also supplied ketamine to the actor’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
Plasencia “admits that his conduct fell below the proper standard of medical care and that transfers of ketamine vials to Defendant Iwamasa and Victim M.P. were not for a legitimate medical purpose,” the agreement states.
Kenneth Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He is due to be sentenced in November. He admitted in court documents to administering ketamine to Perry on the day he died.
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