Doctor Linked to Matthew Perry's Death Pleads Guilty, Faces 40-Year Sentence
The doctor who supplied Matthew Perry with ketamine in the weeks before his death has pleaded guilty—and he could be facing decades behind bars.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who ran an urgent care clinic in Calabasas, California, agreed to plead guilty to four criminal counts of illegally distributing ketamine. He now faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.
Plasencia isn't some rogue dealer off the street—he was Perry's doctor, personally delivering ketamine to him between September 30 and October 12, 2023, either at Perry's home or even in parking lots, according to court records. Over that span, he handed over 20 vials of ketamine, lozenges, and syringes. The ketamine wasn't just illegally obtained—it was also completely unauthorized for at-home use like this.
The plea agreement reveals Plasencia was introduced to Perry through another unnamed patient who described the Friends actor as a "high-profile person" willing to pay "cash and lots of thousands" for ketamine therapy. Plasencia then reached out to Dr. Mark Chavez, who used to run a ketamine clinic, and purchased supplies from him—only to deliver them straight to Perry.
Perry was found dead on October 28, 2023, in his hot tub. The L.A. County Medical Examiner ruled his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine, which can shut down the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. He also had buprenorphine in his system—a medication used to treat opioid addiction—but the report clarified that the ketamine alone was enough to kill him.
One key detail that shut down a lot of early speculation: the ketamine that killed Perry didn't come from any clinic. His last legit infusion was over a week earlier—long out of his system by the time he died. Which means the fatal dose almost certainly came from an illegal source.
Dr. Plasencia is the fourth person to plead guilty in connection to Perry's death. The others are:
Dr. Mark Chavez, who sold Plasencia the ketamine.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's personal assistant, who helped procure the drugs.
Erik Fleming, a friend and dealer who admitted distributing the dose that killed him.
Still awaiting trial is Jasveen Sangha, a woman described in reports as the "Ketamine Queen." She's accused of selling over 50 vials of ketamine to Perry through Iwamasa and Fleming in a two-week period. Sangha has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in August 2025.
Sentencing for Chavez is set for September. Iwamasa and Fleming will be sentenced in November. Plasencia had originally been headed for trial in August—but with this plea deal, he's now likely to be sentenced before the year is out.