By JAIMIE DING, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor who pleaded guilty in a scheme to supply ketamine to actor Matthew Perry was sentenced Tuesday to 8 months of home confinement.
Dr. Mark Chavez of San Diego is on supervised release for 3 years and will be expected to do 300 hours of community service for his role in the “Friends” star’s overdose death, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett ruled.
Chavez acquired ketamine and gave it to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison earlier this month for selling ketamine to Perry in the months leading up to his death.
FILE – Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, who is charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s fatal overdose, is seen after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine in Los Angeles on Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Plasencia admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted Chavez that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.
Perry had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn’t provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia.
Chavez admitted to obtaining the ketamine from a wholesale distributor on false pretenses and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He has not been in custody.
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest TV 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 NBC’s megahit.
Chavez is the second person to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023.
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Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28. The medical examiner ruled ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common.
Seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him, about a month before his death Perry found Plasencia, who in turn asked Chavez to obtain the drug for him.
He met with Plasencia between San Diego and Los Angeles to hand off ketamine he got using fraudulent prescriptions. In all, he admitted to supplying 22 5-milliliter vials of ketamine and nine ketamine lozenges.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of six months home confinement, two years of probation, and at least 300 hours of community service. Chavez’s attorneys asked for credit for time served and three years of probation.
The other three defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months. Garnett has said she would seek to make sure all the sentences made sense in relation to one another.
AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton contributed reporting.
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