Matthew Perry's Doctor Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Ketamine

Dr. Salvador Plasencia, the physician who supplied Matthew Perry with 20 vials of liquid ketamine shortly before the actors fatal overdose, was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.

Addressing the court, Plasencia expressed remorse: I failed Matthew Perry. I should have protected him. Im deeply sorry.

In July, Plasencia pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine and admitted to altering records during the federal investigation. The charges carried a potential maximum sentence of 40 years. Prosecutors recommended three years in prison and two years of supervised release. Plasencia requested no prison time, citing his voluntary surrender of his medical license, which led to the closure of his clinic, and the relocation of his wife and son to Arizona for safety following Perrys death.

Plasencias attorneys acknowledged that he ignored clear signs of Perrys addiction and relapse. They stated that during a 13-day period in late September and early October 2023, Plasencia treated Perry without proper expertise in ketamine therapy or full awareness of his addiction, describing it as reckless and the gravest mistake of his life.

According to his plea agreement, Plasencia injected Perry multiple times in the weeks before his death, including once in a car outside the Long Beach Aquarium, and provided vials for home use without a legitimate medical reason. Perrys parents submitted heartfelt victim impact statements, questioning how a doctor could exploit a patients vulnerability for profit.

Prosecutors noted that Plasencia expressed a profit motive from the outset, telling a co-conspirator: I wonder how much this moron will pay. Perrys mother and stepfather called him among the most culpable of all for his actions.

Plasencia is one of five people convicted in connection with Perrys death. He was arrested alongside Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the Ketamine Queen of North Hollywood, who pleaded guilty in September and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 10. The batch of ketamine in Perrys system at the time of his death was not sold by Plasencia; Sangha supplied Perry with additional vials in October 2023. On the day of Perrys death, his assistant administered three injections from Sanghas supply. The autopsy confirmed Perry died from acute ketamine effects at his Pacific Palisades home.

Federal authorities identified Plasencia and Sangha as the lead defendants in the 18-count indictment unsealed last year. Other individuals, including Dr. Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Fleming, previously reached plea agreements. Prosecutors reported that Perry developed an addiction to intravenous ketamine while seeking treatment for depression and anxiety, ultimately obtaining more ketamine from these suppliers when his clinic refused to increase his dosage.

Plasencia and Chavez distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to Perry in the final weeks of his life for $55,000 in cash. Each vial sold for $2,000, despite a cost of about $12 per vial for Chavez. Chavezs sentencing is set for Dec. 17, Flemings for Jan. 7, and Iwamasas for Jan. 14.

Author: Sophia Brooks