A doctor who illegally supplied the “Friends” actor Matthew Perry with the drug ketamine in the weeks leading up to Mr. Perry’s death in 2023 — traveling to his home and a parking lot to inject him — has agreed to plead guilty, according to court documents.
The doctor, Salvador Plasencia, could face up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine on four criminal counts of distributing of ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, under the agreement, which was filed on Monday in federal court in Los Angeles.
Dr. Plasencia, 43, an urgent care clinic operator in Calabasas, Calif., will become the fourth person to plead guilty in connection to Mr. Perry’s death, which the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office determined was caused by the “acute effects” of ketamine. A court date has not been set.
Mr. Perry, who publicly struggled with drinking and drug use for decades, was found floating face down in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023. He was 54.
An autopsy said that drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of an opioid, buprenorphine, had contributed to his death.
Ketamine, which has psychedelic properties, has emerged as increasingly popular alternative therapy for anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. It is also used recreationally.
From late September to mid-October of 2023, Dr. Plasencia supplied Mr. Perry with 20 vials of ketamine, a partly used package of ketamine lozenges and syringes, according to federal prosecutors.
Another defendant, Jasveen Sangha, supplied Mr. Perry with the ketamine that killed him, investigators said.
Ms. Sangha, who prosecutors say was known to her customers as the “Ketamine Queen,” has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in August. A lawyer for Ms. Sangha did not immediately comment on Monday.
A lawyer for Dr. Plasencia, who had also been scheduled to face trial in August, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Federal prosecutors, who charged a total of five people in Mr. Perry’s death, declined to comment beyond the plea agreement filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles in Dr. Plasencia’s case.
Three of the five pleaded guilty last year, including Mr. Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who investigators said had procured tens of thousands of dollars of ketamine with the help of two doctors and a drug dealer.
Mr. Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. His sentencing is scheduled for November.
Dr. Mark Chavez, who admitted to selling ketamine to Dr. Plasencia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. His sentencing is scheduled for September.
And Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Mr. Perry’s, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. His sentencing is scheduled for November.
Mr. Perry, who was best known for playing Chandler Bing on the sitcom “Friends,” had been receiving infusions of ketamine in the weeks leading up to his death.
But when doctors at another local clinic refused to increase his dosage of the drug, he began to pursue it illegally.
According to court documents, Dr. Plasencia left ketamine vials and lozenges with Mr. Perry’s assistant to give him, knowing that he did not have medical training.
Dr. Plasencia visited Mr. Perry’s home several times to inject him with the drug, prosecutors said. He also met in a public parking lot at a Los Angeles area aquarium, where he administered the drug to Mr. Perry while he sat in the back seat of the actor’s vehicle.
Neil Vigdor covers breaking news for The Times, with a focus on politics.
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