One of two doctors charged in the ketamine overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry was sentenced to 30 months in prison Wednesday on federal charges of illegal distribution of the surgical anesthetic.
Salvador Plasencia, 44, of Santa Monica, pleaded guilty in July to four federal counts of distribution of ketamine. The dissociative anesthetic drug is used as a therapy for depression and chronic pain, but also has some hallucinogenic effects and can distort sight and sound.
The former doctor faced up to 40 years in prison and a fine of at least $2 million, according to his plea agreement, which came with no sentencing guarantees. Plasencia was set for trial in August until the doctor agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine.
After the hearing Wednesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, Plasencia, a physician who owned and operated a Calabasas-based Malibu Canyon Urgent Care LLC, surrendered and was taken into custody.
His attorneys had requested one day in jail. Government prosecutors sought a penalty of three years in prison.
In addition to the 2 1/2-year prison sentence, he will be under two years of supervised release and must pay a $5,600 fine.
In victim impact statements submitted to the court, Perry’s family members spoke about their loss and heartbreak. Mother Suzanne and stepdad Keith Morrison, correspondent for Dateline NBC, said Plasencia is the “most culpable” for Perry’s death.
“I believe the man you are going to sentence today is among the most culpable of all,” the statement said. “His crime I find truly hard to understand. Here was a man who’d studied for years and years, poured sweat and tears, I imagine, into his quest to become a doctor. A long road with a narrow gate, to enter that esteemed profession. Why become a doctor? To cure the sick of course. To heal people. To save lives.”
The impact statement also addressed the heartbreak of addiction and the world’s reaction to the tragedy.
“She – Suzanne – warned me, when we got serious about each other, that no man could ever come between her and that boy,” Morrison said. “She certainly didn’t expect that addiction would do that very thing, or that he’d be hastened to an early death by the very people he trusted.
“And now we are left with victim impact statements. And people all around the world could join us in those. Even now, when we visit his grave, we find little momentos there: Flowers of course, and coins, and bits of Friends swag, little stuffed toys, batman stickers, notes scrawled on scraps of paper, and cards and letters full of emotion. Often full of gratitude. His story moved so many people.”
John and Debbie Perry, Perry’s fathers and stepmother, issued a victim impact statement that addressed the doctor and addiction recovery.
“Matthew’s recovery counted on you saying no,” the couple said. “Your motives? I can’t imagine. A doctor whose life is devoted to helping people? What ever were you thinking? How long did you possibly see supplying Matthew countless doses without his death to eventually follow? Did you care? Did you think? How many more people have you harmed that we don’t know about? We ask the court to give you plenty of time to think about your actions by extending your sentence beyond the mandatory time.”
Plasencia’s mother spoke minutes after her son was taken away in handcuffs.
“I just buried my daughter, and I know what the parents are feeling,” Luz Plasencia said. “I’m sorry. My son has a good heart and he was really sorry.”
Plasencia’s attorneys have repeatedly said the doctor was not treating Perry at the time of his death in October 2023.
“Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry,” his attorney said in an earlier statement. “He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution. Dr. Plasencia intends to voluntarily surrender his medical license, acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction.”
The judge noted that Plasencia did not provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him, “You and others helped Mr. Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.
“You exploited Mr. Perry’s addiction for your own profit.”
Five defendants were charged in Perry’s death and pleaded guilty. Jasveen Sangha, aka the Ketamine Queen, faces up to 65 years in prison when she is sentenced Feb. 25.
Perry, 54, was found dead Oct. 28, 2023, by an assistant in a jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades home. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death.
The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.
Plasencia admitted in his plea agreement that another patient connected him with Perry, and that starting about a month before Perry’s death, he illegally supplied the actor with 20 vials of ketamine totaling 100 mg of the drug, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes.
He admitted to enlisting another doctor, Mark Chavez, to supply the drug for him, according to the court filings. After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to,” prosecutors said.
“Rather than do what was best for Mr. Perry – someone who had struggled with addiction for most of his life – (Plasencia) sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Indeed, the day (Plasencia) met Perry he made his profit motive known, telling a co-conspirator: ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay’ and ‘let’s find out.’”
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.
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