Doctor accused in investigation into Matthew Perry's death pleads guilty to drug offenses

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A San Diego doctor became the third person plead guilty in the case of Matthew Perry The fatal drug overdose comes as prosecutors gather cooperators to convict two major targets they say are responsible for the “Friends” star's death.

Dr. Mark ChavezThe 54-year-old filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday charging him with conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine after reaching a deal with prosecutors in July.

Chavez agreed to cooperate while the U.S. Attorney's Office filed more serious charges against Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who prosecutors say directly administered ketamine to Perry. The investigation's other main target is Jasmine Sangha, an alleged dealer who prosecutors say was known as Los Angeles' “ketamine queen” and supplied the doses that killed Perry last year.

Chavez stood in court with his attorney and answered dozens of questions from Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett. He agreed to waive his right to a trial and other rights.

He listened to prosecutors as they reviewed each case in which he met with Plasencia between San Diego and Los Angeles to hand over ketamine he obtained with fraudulent prescriptions. In total he admitted supplying 22 5 milliliter bottles of ketamine and nine ketamine lozenges.

Chavez cleared his throat as a prosecutor described Perry's death.

“Are you pleading guilty to doing the things that prosecutors described?” Garnett asked Chavez.

“Yes, your honor,” he said.

Chavez remains free on bail until his April 2 sentencing. He surrendered his passport and, among other things, agreed to surrender his license to practice medicine.

The judge told him that she was not bound by any agreement or recommendation and could still sentence him to the full 10 years allowed by law. However, because of the plea deal and his cooperation with prosecutors, he will likely receive a much shorter prison sentence.

His attorney, Matthew Binninger, spoke only briefly to reporters outside the courthouse.

“Mark has made his admission of guilt and that is now public knowledge,” Binninger said. “You accept responsibility and then determine the punishment.”

Perry's assistant, who has admitted this, is also working with the federal prosecutor's office They helped him obtain and inject ketamineand an acquaintance of Perry's who admitted to acting as a drug runner and middleman.

Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28, 2023. The coroner ruled on this Ketamine was the main cause of death. The actor had used the drug through his family doctor as part of a legal but unlicensed treatment for depression, which is becoming increasingly common.

Perry began taking more ketamine than his doctor wanted to give him. About a month before the actor's death, he met Plasencia, who in turn allegedly asked Chavez to get the drug for him.

“I wonder how much this idiot will pay,” Plasencia wrote to Chavez, according to prosecutors’ court documents. The two met the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the documents say.

After Plasencia sold the drugs to Perry for $4,500, he allegedly asked Chavez if he could continue supplying them so they could become Perry's “go-to guy,” prosecutors said.

When reading the charges in court on Wednesday, prosecutors recounted a text exchange in which Plasencia asked Chavez if he agreed with what they were doing.

“Depends on your risk tolerance,” Chavez said.

When Plasencia asked him if he was interested in opening a ketamine clinic, Chavez said he might be involved as long as there weren't any “shady things.”

U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the indictment Aug. 15 that “doctors exploited Perry's history of addiction in the final months of his life last year to provide him with ketamine in quantities they knew he would have.” are dangerous.”

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He played next to it Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 NBC's mega-hit sitcom.