California doctor who prescribed drugs is sentenced
California doctor who supplied ketamine to Friends star Matthew Perry was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison; This made him the first person to be charged in the actor’s overdose death.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia was one of five people charged in a multi-year federal investigation examining how Perry obtained dissociative anesthesia through an underground drug network in Hollywood.
Perry, 54, was found dead in his Los Angeles home in 2023 after years of struggling with depression and addiction.
The actor’s family asked the judge for a lengthy sentence, calling Plasencia “most culpable” and detailing their struggle to understand why he repeatedly supplied drugs to Perry.
His mother, Suzanne Morrison, was among several family members who spoke in court ahead of Plasencia’s sentencing. He highlighted text messages in court records in which Plasencia called Perry a “moron” and wondered how much he would be willing to pay for the drugs.
It was emotional, addressing Plasencia directly. “There was nothing stupid about this man,” his mother said, adding that the doctor had sworn to protect people and should have protected Matthew.
Plasencia also spoke in court and addressed Perry’s family, expressing both contrition and contrition while her own mother wept in the seat behind her. Plasencia said he has a two-year-old son.
“I want to raise him the right way,” he said. “And I’m thinking about how to explain this to him.”
He also apologized to Perry’s family.
“I failed myself. There are no excuses. I can’t take back what was done. I know that. I should have protected him like his mother said. I’m so sorry.”
US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett ordered the Santa Monica doctor to pay a fine of $5,600 (£4,195) as well as the prison sentence. Following the sentencing verdict, he was immediately taken into federal custody.
plasencia He pleaded guilty over the summer up to four counts to distribute ketamine. The charges carried a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, although prosecutors had sought a three-year prison sentence.
Four other people charged in the case — including another doctor, his assistant and the two men who supplied the dose of ketamine that killed him — have also pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months.
The sitcom star, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on Friends, has been vocal and public about his struggles with depression and drug addiction over the years.
Ahead of Wednesday’s sentencing, Perry’s family submitted letters known as victim impact statements to the judge for him to consider before making his sentencing decision.
“Matthew’s recovery depended on you saying NO,” his father John and stepmother Debbie wrote in an emotional letter. “Your reason? I can’t imagine. A doctor who devoted his life to helping people?”
The actor’s father and stepmother said the loss “devastated” their family because their “next patriarch” was no longer gone, and blamed Plasencia, a doctor Perry’s mother and stepfather called a “jackal” who repeatedly broke the Hippocratic oath.
Her mother and stepfather, Suzanne and Keith Morrison, detailed how difficult it was to understand the loss in their victim statements. They said Matthew was spending time trying to recover and was hoping to make a comeback to acting.
“He wanted, he needed, he deserved a third act. It was…in the planning stages. And then those coyotes.”
In a letter to the judge last month, Plasencia apologized and said he took full responsibility for his actions and role in Perry’s death. He explained that the medical clinic was in dire straits and that although Perry saw “signs of addiction,” “the offer of large sums of money was tempting.”
Plasencia also said he voluntarily surrendered his medical license when he was arrested, giving up his clinic and the profession that once defined him.
Ketamine has some hallucinogenic effects and is intended to be administered only by a physician.
The actor had been taking a legal, prescribed amount of medication to treat his depression, but then began wanting more than was provided.
Court documents that are part of the federal investigation show that this led him to numerous doctors and a female prosecutor dubbed the “Ketamine Queen”; He supplied large amounts of drugs and others from his home in Los Angeles, which he called a “drug store.”
Prosecutors say Plasencia, also known as “Dr P,” injected Perry with ketamine at his home in Long Beach, about 25 miles south of Los Angeles, and in the parking lot of an aquarium.
According to court documents filed for the plea deal, Plasencia taught Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa (who also pleaded guilty in the case) how to administer the drug and sold them additional vials to keep at home.
Prosecutors say that between September 30, 2023, and October 12, 2023, Plasencia sold twenty 5 ml (100 mg/ml) vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges, and syringes to Perry and his assistant.
Prosecutors said Plasencia and others charged in the case “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves.”
