A federal court in Los Angeles is preparing for Dr. Salvador Plasencia to enter a guilty plea on Wednesday. He stands accused of supplying ketamine to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry in the weeks before the star’s fatal overdose in October 2023. This guilty plea would make him the fourth of five individuals charged in connection with Perry’s death to admit wrongdoing.
Dr. Plasencia was facing trial in August, but prosecutors agreed to reduce the charges. He will plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, while three additional counts of distribution and two counts of falsifying records will be dropped. Although the remaining charges carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, the plea agreement likely means he will receive less time. He remains free on bond, with sentencing scheduled for a future date.
Plasencia’s attorneys clarified that he was not treating Perry at the time of the actor’s death, and that the fatal ketamine dose was obtained from another source. Nevertheless, according to the plea documents and statements from co-defendants, Plasencia supplied Perry with 20 vials (totaling 100 mg), lozenges, syringes, and enlisted another physician, Dr. Mark Chavez, to continue supplying the drug. In one alarming text message, Plasencia referred to Perry as a “moron” and discussed how much money he could make by cultivating him as a regular client.
One final defendant remains at large in the case: Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen,” who allegedly sold Perry the fatal dose. She has pleaded not guilty, and her trial is set to begin next month.
Perry, 54, who rose to fame as Chandler Bing on “Friends,” had used ketamine off-label to treat depression. According to authorities, his usage escalated beyond medically supervised limits. His assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, found him unresponsive, and the medical examiner determined ketamine was the primary cause of death.
