Dr. Mark Chavez — one of two doctors charged in connection to the death of Matthew Perry — pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine. Chavez, 54, entered the guilty plea on Wednesday, October 2, in a federal Los Angeles court. During the investigation into Perry’s death, Chavez was arrested alongside Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha, a drug dealer known as the “ketamine queen” in North Hollywood. Five individuals in total were charged earlier this summer in Perry’s case.
Chavez faces up to 10 years behind bars, and his sentencing date is scheduled for April 2, 2025, per NBC News. According to the indictment against Chavez, he obtained the ketamine after “writing a fraudulent prescription in a patient’s name without her knowledge or consent, and lied to wholesale ketamine distributors to buy additional vials of liquid ketamine that Chavez intended to sell to Plasencia for distribution to Perry.” Chavez’s attorney, Matthew Binninger, said that his client felt “remorseful” for his role in Perry’s accidental overdose and was “accepting responsibility,” per the outlet.
In August, the charges were read against the five defendants: Chavez, Plasencia, Sangha, Erik Fleming and Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. Per the United States Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforcement administrator Anne Milgram said that “each of the defendants played a key role in his death by falsely prescribing, selling, or injecting the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry’s tragic death.”
“We allege Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials,” the DEA administrator continued.
In a series of texts before Perry’s death, Plasencia allegedly sent Chavez a message that read, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Nearly one year before Chavez entered his guilty plea, Perry was found dead in his hot tub in October 2023. According to the coroner’s report, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety before he died. At the time of his death, however, the levels of ketamine in his body were usually high.
The late 17 Again actor struggled with addiction throughout his career. He opened up about how he overcame the substance abuse in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).