It’s been months since Matthew Perry’s death and justice is still in the process of being served. On October 2, California physician Dr. Mark Chavez pled guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry. Chavez is one of five others involved in the Friends star’s death. Perry passed away in October 2023 and the autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was ketamine overdose. Ketamine is a drug used for treating depression, anxiety, and pain, but in Perry’s case, it was a lethal weapon.
Mark Chavez Pleads Guilty
Dr. Chavez, 54, pled guilty in a Los Angeles court on October 2 before U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, to one count of conspiring to distribute ketamine to Matthew Perry. Chavez is the third of the five defendants to sign a plea deal with the prosecution. Despite making a plea deal, he will still face up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in April 2025. Chavez gave up his passport and agreed to stop practicing medicine. He is out on a $50,000 bond until his trial on April 2, 2025, when he will be sentenced.
Chavez operated a ketamine clinic and supplied it to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who also no longer practices medicine after Perry’s tragic death, and supplied them to Perry. According to the BBC and his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to obtaining ketamine from his former clinic and a wholesale distributor through a fraudulent prescription. According to the indictment as well, both Chavez and Plasencia exchanged text messages discussing how much they could charge the Friends actor for ketamine vials, as a message read: “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
The Others Charged in Matthew Perry’s Death
There are four other defendants charged with the murder of the late Perry. Jasveen Sangha, 41, aka the “Ketamine Queen,” of North Hollywood, and Dr. Plasencia, 42, aka “Dr. P,” of Santa Monica. They both have been arrested and pled not guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and are to go on trial on March 4. Both were arraigned at the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Sangha is jailed without bond and Plasencia’s bond was set at $100,000.
There is also Erik Fleming, 54, of Hawthorne, who pled guilty on August 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death as he admitted to distributing the ketamine that killed Perry. Finally, Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, of Toluca Lake, pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and is to be sentenced on November 6.
What Led to Matthew Perry’s Death
According to the prosecution, Plasencia learned of Perry’s well-documented history of drug addiction and was interested in obtaining ketamine. Sangha, aka “Ketamine Queen,” sold the ketamine batch that caused Perry’s death, charging $50,000 for about 50 vials. In addition, he received several injections on the day he died from his live-in personal assistant, Iwamasa. Perry died on October 28, 2023, and his autopsy on December 25, 2023, revealed that his cause of death was the “acute effects of ketamine.” There were other factors in play such as drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine — a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.
Final Thoughts
What happened to Matthew Perry is very tragic. In his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, and in the public eye, he was insistent on and appeared to be embracing sobriety. But then again, addiction is a big demon whose fighting is far from being an easy task. Was he really sober as he claimed in his last days and memoir, or did he slip into the seductive grip of addiction again but this time, it was a deadly grip that took him? Even law enforcement admits that it’s a difficult case to piece together but at the end of the day, justice will prevail for the late actor.
