Dr. Salvador Plasencia is expected to plead guilty to charges stemming from Matthew Perry’s accidental overdose in 2023 in a series of cases targeting those who supplied the “Friends” actor with copious amounts of ketamine. Plasencia agreed last month to plead guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine and has a formal hearing on the matter in federal court on Wednesday. According to an agreement with prosecutors, Plasencia faces up to 40 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Plasencia also faces a fine of at least $2 million, the agreement states. Perry was found dead at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, 2023, in what the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office declared an accident from acute effects of ketamine. The “Friends” actor was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety, but an investigation found that Perry was seeking the drug illegally outside of his treatment. Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s personal assistant, was one of five people charged in the actor’s death. Iwamasa plead guilty in 2024 and court documents in his case revealed that Perry was experiencing an out-of-control addiction. The former assistant told authorities that Perry was introduced to Plasencia weeks before the actor died, and that the doctor sold Perry both liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges. He also taught Iwamasa how to inject Perry, the assistant said, despite the fact that Iwamasa had no medical training. Iwamasa’s plea agreement stated that Perry paid Plasencia up to $55,000 for the drug in the month prior to his death. Federal prosecutors alleged in court documents that Plasencia told a patient that Perry was “too far gone and spiraling in his addiction,” but continued to sell him drugs anyway. Text messages between Plasencia and Mark Chavez, a former doctor who pled guilty in the Perry case, showed the men mocking how much money they could get from the actor for ketamine.”I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia said. “Lets find out.”
Doctor charged in Matthew Perry’s death expected to plead guilty in court
