Matthew Perry death probe update: Doctor who supplied ketamine to Friends' actor sentenced to prison

Hollywood actor Matthew Perry rose to global stardom after his portrayal of Chandler Bing in the iconic sitcom Friends. The actor who made millions laugh with his character had one of the most tragic lives in real life. He was found dead on October 28, 2023, at his home in Los Angeles. After a death probe was initiated, one of the doctors from Los Angeles who was earlier admitted to selling ketamine to the actor has reportedly been sentenced to prison. Let's delve into it to know more.

Doctor sentenced to prison in Matthew Perry death probe case

According to reports, a Los Angeles doctor who had sold ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before his death has reportedly been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. The doctor, Dr Salvador Plasencia, admitted that he supplied regarding Matthew Perry's addiction despite knowing the risk.

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Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett reportedly said that although Plasencia didn’t supply the lethal dose, “You and others helped Mr Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction. You exploited Mr Perry’s addiction for your own profit.”

What were the charges against Dr Salvador Plasencia?

According to several reports, Dr Salvador Plasencia reportedly pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine in the coming weeks. Reportedly, the charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison, as per the prosecutors.

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His guilty plea came after another doctor, Mark Chavez, also pleaded guilty to distributing ketamine in October 2024. Mark is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

For the unversed, Plasencia is one of the five people who were charged in Matthew Perry's death from a ketamine drug overdose at his home in LA on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54. Apart from Iwamasa, two licensed doctors, Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez; the actor's acquaintance, Erik Fleming; and Jasveen Sangha, aka the Ketamine Queen, an alleged drug dealer, were arrested in Perry's death.

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Estrada, who was in charge of investigations, said that Perry had received 27 doses of ketamine from people who should have known much better. As per reports, Estrada also said, “Allegedly, you (Dr Salvador Plasencia) are providing ketamine to a live-in assistant who has no medical training whatsoever, and that live-in assistant is administering ketamine to a person whose risk factors are through the roof.”

All about Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry made his film debut in the 1988 coming-of-age drama film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, which was written and directed by William Richert. But he had already been on television for almost a decade by then. He made his TV debut with 1979's 240-Robert.

Matthew Perry had struggled with addiction issues. It spread like wildfire when he finished a one-month Vicodin addiction programme in 1997. He had to enter rehab again in 2001 for addiction related to Vicodin, methadone, amphetamines, and alcohol. After this, he became a spokesperson for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

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He was bestowed with the Champion of Recovery award in May 2013 from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for Perry House. Perry House is a rehab for addicts in Malibu, California, that was made after repurposing his mansion.