A San Diego doctor has grow to be the third person to plead guilty in Matthew Perry's fatal drug overdose case, as prosecutors gather partners to convict two major targets they are saying are liable for the “Friends” star's death are.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, entered a plea Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles on charges of conspiracy to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine after reaching a plea take care of prosecutors in July.
Chavez agreed to cooperate because the U.S. Attorney's Office filed more serious charges against Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who prosecutors say directly administered ketamine to Perry. The investigation's other major goal is Jasmine Sangha, an alleged dealer who prosecutors say was often called Los Angeles' “ketamine queen” and supplied the doses that killed Perry last yr.
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Chavez stood in court along with his attorney and answered dozens of questions from Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett. He agreed to waive his right to a trial and other rights.
He listened to prosecutors as they reviewed each case through which he met with Plasencia between San Diego and Los Angeles handy over ketamine he obtained with fraudulent prescriptions. In total he admitted supplying 22 5 milliliter bottles of ketamine and nine ketamine lozenges.
Chavez cleared his throat as a prosecutor described Perry's death.
“Are you pleading guilty to doing the things that prosecutors described?” Garnett asked Chavez.
“Yes, your honor,” he said.
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Chavez stays free on bail until his April 2 sentencing. He surrendered his passport and, amongst other things, agreed to give up his license to practice medicine.
The judge told him that she was not certain by any agreement or advice and will still sentence him to the total 10 years allowed by law. However, due to plea deal and his cooperation with prosecutors, he’ll likely receive a much shorter prison sentence.
His attorney, Matthew Binninger, spoke only briefly to reporters outside the courthouse.
“Mark has made his admission of guilt and that is now public knowledge,” Binninger said. “You take responsibility – and then determine the punishment.”
Also cooperating with federal prosecutors are Perry's assistant, who admitted to helping him obtain and inject ketamine, and an acquaintance of Perry's who admitted to acting as a drug courier and middleman.
Perry was found dead by his assistant on October 28, 2023. The coroner concluded that ketamine was the first reason behind death. The actor had used the drug through his family doctor as a part of a legal but unlicensed treatment for depression, which is becoming increasingly common.
Perry began taking more ketamine than his doctor wanted to provide him. About a month before the actor's death, he met Plasencia, who in turn allegedly asked Chavez to get the drug for him.
“I wonder how much this idiot will pay,” Plasencia Chavez wrote to prosecutors, in keeping with court documents. The two met the identical day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at the very least 4 vials of ketamine, the documents say.
After Plasencia sold the drugs to Perry for $4,500, he allegedly asked Chavez if he could proceed supplying them so that they could grow to be Perry's “go-to guy,” prosecutors said.
When the fees were read in court on Wednesday, prosecutors recounted a text exchange through which Plasencia asked Chavez if he agreed with what they were doing.
“Depends on your risk tolerance,” Chavez said.
When Plasencia asked him if he was curious about opening a ketamine clinic, Chavez said he is perhaps involved so long as there weren't any “shady things.”
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the indictment Aug. 15 that “doctors exploited Perry's history of addiction in the final months of his life last year to provide him with ketamine in quantities they knew he would have.” are dangerous.”
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one among the largest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. From 1994 to 2004, he starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer on NBC's mega-hit sitcom for ten seasons.
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