A doctor charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s ketamine death case has agreed to plead guilty to distributing the fatal drug, authorities said Monday.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, a physician who is one of five people charged in the actor’s death, faces up to 40 years in prison for four counts of ketamine distribution. He is expected to formally plead guilty in the coming weeks.
Plasencia’s plea agreement, which was filed Monday, states that he distributed 20 vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges, and ketamine syringes to Perry and Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, between September 30, 2023 and October 12, 2023.
On Oct. 28, 2023, the Friends star was found dead in his Los Angeles home at the age of 54.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Perry had died from the “acute effects of ketamine.” The actor, who had been outspoken about his struggles with substance abuse throughout his career, had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety but developed a dependence on it, said prosecutors.
Among the five defendants in Perry’s death case, Plasencia is the fourth to agree to plead guilty.
Dr. Mark Chavez, another physician who also previously ran a ketamine clinic, pleaded guilty to distributing ketamine in October 2024. Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in assistant who admitted to administering ketamine to the actor the day he died, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death in August 2024.
A third defendant, Erik Fleming—a producer and acquaintance of Perry’s who admitted in court documents to distributing the ketamine that resulted in his death—pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, in August 2024.
The final defendant, Jasveen Sangha—an alleged drug dealer whom authorities have called the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, has pleaded not guilty.
Court filings detail that Plasencia had learned Perry was interested in acquiring ketamine about a month prior to his death in late September. He proceeded to contact Chavez due to his past experience running a ketamine clinic to obtain the drug to sell to Perry, according to authorities.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia wrote in a text to Chavez, according to an indictment, stressing he wanted to be the actor’s “go to” and didn’t want him to “look elsewhere.”
In the weeks to follow, Chavez and Plasencia distributed 20 vials of ketamine to Perry for $55,000 in cash, according to prosecutors. The pair were charging Perry $2,000 for a vial that would have cost Chavez $12, per The Los Angeles Times.
Alongside distributing ketamine to Perry, authorities also alleged that Plasencia taught Iwamasa how to inject the drug into the actor, despite him having no medical training.
“Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday and it ended with street dealers who sold him ketamine in unmarked vials,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram said in an August 2024 news conference.
“The desperation that led Perry to these individuals was not met with help, as it should have been from the doctors,” she continued. “But instead it was met with exploitation.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline at 1-800- 662-HELP (4357).
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