Doctor who gave Matthew Perry ketamine and called him ‘a moron’ pleads guilty to role in his death

The doctor who gave actor Matthew Perry doses of ketamine before he overdosed and drowned in the hot tub of his LA home has pleaded guilty to playing a role in his death.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia appeared in federal court on Wednesday and was mostly quiet as the judge went over the plea agreement for nearly an hour.

Plasencia, who was often called ‘Dr. P’, was facing in a potential 40-year prison sentence had he not taken the plea deal. 

He is expected to return to court on December 3 for sentencing and will face up to 10 years in federal prison.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia leaves federal court on July 23 after pleading guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before his death in October 2023

The Friends actor struggled with depression and drug abuse for years

When asked by the judge if he and his lawyers had considered all the possibilities of pleas and sentencing in the case, the 43-year-old physician replied, ‘They’ve considered everything.’

He had previously pleaded not guilty, but in exchange for the guilty pleas prosecutors have agreed to drop three additional counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of falsifying records.

The Santa Monica physician is the fourth person who was indicted on criminal charges in connection to the Friends’ star’s death on Oct. 28, 2023.  

Jasveen Sangha, was known to her customers as the ‘Ketamine Queen’, is the only defendant who has not decided to take a plea deal in connection to the actor’s death. She is slated to return to court August 19. 

Jasveen Sangha, aka the ‘Ketamine Queen’, is the only defendant left who has yet to plead guilty

Dr. Mark Chavez also plead guilty to charges in connection to Matthew Perry’s death

Sangha remains in custody in Los Angeles awaiting trial. 

Others who have plead guilty include Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who discovered the actor’s lifeless body in his hot tub. 

The LA County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the actor — who had battled substance abuse issues throughout his life — died of ‘acute effects of ketamine.’  

Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy as treatment for his depression, but the last session was a week and a half before he died, the medical examiner determined.

Ketamine is only in your system for three to four hours, which means it did not lead directly to his death.

‘At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,’ the medical examiner, Raffi Djabourian, concluded.  

Two others — physician Mark Chavez, of San Diego and Erik Fleming, 54, of Hawthorne — also plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. 

In his plea agreement, Plasencia admitted he met Perry through  another patient connected him with Perry.

He admitted supplying Perry with 20 vials of ketamine totaling 100 mg of the drug, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes about a month before the actor’s death.

He also admitted enlisting Dr. Chavez, who supplied the drugs. In court documents, Plasencia texted Chavez: ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay,’ referring to Perry.

Matthew Perry’s longtime assistant, Kenny Iwamasa, pleaded guilty in connection to his former boss’s death. Prosecutors allege the assistant injected Perry with ketamine on the day the actor died

Federal prosecutors said Plasencia sold the drugs to the actor for $4,500. He also told Chavez to keep the supplies coming so they could become the actor’s ‘go-to’.

Perry – who had long struggled with addiction and staying sober – told Iwamasa to procure illegal drugs for him in late September 2023.

Iwamasa allegedly obtained the ketamine he gave to Perry from Plasencia and Fleming. The assistant reportedly met with Plasencia at least seven times between September 30 and October 28, 2023.

On the day of his death, Perry reportedly told Iwamasa to ‘shoot me up with a big one,’ and was injected with ketamine by the assistant three times, according to his plea agreement. 

Prosecutors allege Iwamasa also began obtaining ketamine for Perry from Fleming and Sangha beginning in mid-October 2023. 

After discussing prices with Iwamasa, Fleming allegedly coordinated the drug sales with Sangha, and brought cash from Iwamasa to Sangha’s stash house in North Hollywood.  

In October 24, 2023, Fleming allegedly told Iwamasa that the ketamine was ‘on its way to our girl,’ referring to Sangha. 

Prosecutors allege Sangha distributed ketamine and other illegal drugs from her stash house in North Hollywood since 2019.