Matthew Perry‘s doctor, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, has agreed to plead guilty to supplying the late Friends actor with ketamine prior to his death, the Department of Justice said on Monday, June 16. Perry died of acute effects of ketamine in October 2023 at age 54.
Plasencia, 43, is the fourth defendant to plead guilty and one of five people charged in connection to Perry’s death. Plasencia, also known as “Dr. P,” is expected to appear in court in the coming weeks to officially plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine. He faces up to 40 years in prison. The physician had previously pleaded not guilty at his August 2024 arraignment and was released on bond. He was set to go to trial in August 2025.
According to Plasencia’s plea deal, he provided 20 vials of ketamine, syringes, and ketamine lozenges to Perry and his live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, from September 30, 2023, to October 12, 2023, per ABC. Perry was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi of his Pacific Palisades home on October 28, 2023. His autopsy report listed drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine as the contributing factors in his death.
Iwamasa is one of the five defendants in the case. The other doctor charged in this case, Dr. Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty in October 2024 and is set to be sentenced this September. Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha, 42, referred to as “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood by the DOJ, were charged in August 2024 and faced 18 criminal counts of providing Perry with ketamine in the final weeks of his life. They were considered the lead defendants in the case at the time. Erik Fleming is the fifth defendant. He’s listed as an acquaintance of Perry’s and was allegedly the go-between for Sangha and the actor.
Fleming, Iwamasa, and Chavez have all agreed to plead guilty to single counts of conspiracy to supply ketamine. Sanga was remanded to custody after being determined to be a flight risk and is awaiting a trial set for August.
Ketamine is a legal medication typically used as an anesthetic. It can be abused through recreational use. Dr. Chavez previously ran a ketamine clinic in California. Plasencia reportedly contacted Chavez after learning of Perry’s interest in obtaining the drug. According to the indictment, Plasencia reportedly said in a text message to Chavez about how much to charge Perry for the substance, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Let’s find out.”
Plasencia says in the plea deal that he knowingly provided Perry with ketamine without having a legitimate medical purpose to do so, per Variety.