LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry weeks before the “Friends” star's overdose death will become the first of five people sentenced in the case Wednesday.
Perry's family and possibly others affected by his death will have the opportunity to make a statement in Los Angeles federal court before Dr. Salvador Plasencia is sentenced.
Prosecutors are asking U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett to sentence Plasencia, 44, to three years in prison following a plea agreement in which the doctor admitted to illegally selling large quantities of ketamine to Perry. He was not accused of selling the actor 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 despite knowing he had a drug addiction. According to court documents, he wrote to another doctor saying Perry was an “idiot” who could be exploited 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.
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 to Perry “reckless” and “the biggest mistake of his life.”
“Remorse cannot reflect the pain, regret and shame that Mr. Plasencia feels due to the unfolding tragedy that he was unable to prevent,” the memo states.
But, the lawyers wrote, “a prison sentence is neither necessary nor justified. He has already lost his medical license, his clinic and his career. He has also been viciously attacked in the media and threatened by 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, for whom he is a loving guardian.
“I want him to be proud of his father,” Plasencia said in a video he and his lawyers filmed 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 be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.
Perry's mother Suzanne Perry and his stepfather, Dateline journalist Keith Morrison, attended earlier hearings. They may be among those given the opportunity to speak before Plasencia is sentenced.
The remaining four defendants who reached plea agreements will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months.
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his days on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on the NBC megahit.
