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A California doctor was sentenced Wednesday to two-and-a-half years in prison for illegally supplying Matthew Perry with ketamine, a powerful sedative that contributed to the actor's 2023 drug overdose death.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic outside Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in federal court in July to four counts of illegally distributing a prescription anesthetic. If convicted at trial, he would have faced up to 40 years in prison.
Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett to sentence Plasencia, 44, to three years in prison after a plea agreement in which the doctor admitted to illegally selling large quantities of ketamine to Perry.
He was not accused of selling Friends sitcom star, the dose that investigators say killed him on October 28, 2023.
Perry legally took the surgical anesthetic ketamine to treat depression. But when his regular doctor didn't supply the quantity he needed, he turned to Placencia, who admitted to illegally selling Perry even though he knew he had a drug addiction.
According to court records, Plasencia wrote to another doctor saying Perry was an “idiot” who could be used for money.
“Instead of doing what was best for Mr. Perry—a man who struggled with addiction for most of his life—the defendant sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” the charging memo states.
An autopsy report reveals that actor Matthew Perry died from the “acute effects” of ketamine. Perry, who battled drug and alcohol addiction for decades, was found dead in his home in October.
Plasencia's lawyers tried to paint a sympathetic portrait of him in their brief as a man who rose from poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients, some of whom provided evidence about him to the court.
His lawyers called his sale of Perry “reckless” and “the biggest mistake of his life.”
“Remorse cannot encompass the pain, regret and shame that Mr. Plasencia feels due to the unfolding tragedy that he was unable to prevent,” the memo states.
The doctor pleaded guilty
But, as the lawyers write, “a prison sentence is neither necessary nor justified. He had already lost his medical license, his clinic and his career. He was also subjected to vicious attacks in the media and threats from strangers to the point that his family moved out of state for their safety.”
Plasencia's lawyers said he moved to Arizona with his wife and 2-year-old son.
“I want him to be proud of his father,” Plasencia said in a video he and his lawyers produced for the judge. “I've made mistakes, but I want him to know that after my mistakes, I tried to make better choices.”
Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine.
Prosecutors agreed to drop five different charges. The agreement was made without any guarantees of sentencing, and under the law Garnett could have been sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.
The remaining four defendants who reached plea agreements will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months.
Perry died at the age of 54 after a years-long battle with addiction, dating back to his time on Friendswhen he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred in the NBC megahit alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.
