Doctor to plead guilty to distributing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry

A doctor agreed to plead guilty this week for distributing the drug ketamine to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry in the weeks leading up to his death on Oct. 28, 2023.

Ketamine is used as an anesthetic, inducing loss of awareness, for people and animals and can cause hallucinations, per a Drug Enforcement Administration fact sheet. Ketamine overdoses cause slow breathing and possible unconsciousness.

Prosecutors charged five people following Perry’s fatal ketamine overdose, three of whom have already pleaded guilty.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia, one of the two remaining defendants, said Monday he would plead guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine, according to The Associated Press, with three other counts of distribution and two counts of falsifying records being dropped as part of the deal.

Erik Fleming, a Perry friend, pleaded guilty in August to one count each of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a release last year. Fleming gave the ultimately fatal vials of ketamine to Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.

Iwamasa pleaded guilty, also in August, to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He injected Perry with ketamine, including multiple doses on the day of the actor’s death, despite not having medical training, USAO-CDCA said.

Another doctor, Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He admitted selling ketamine to Mr. Plasencia, the attorney’s office said.

At one point, Dr. Plasencia asked Chavez over text, “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” referring to Perry.

Prosecutors accused the final defendant, Jasveen Sangha, of being a ketamine dealer. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.

In particular, the attorney’s office alleged that Ms. Sangha provided Fleming with the ketamine that killed Perry.

Ms. Sangha has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court in August, according to ABC News.