One of the doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s fatal ketamine overdose has agreed to plead guilty to distributing the drug, federal officials announced Monday.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic in Malibu, is expected to formally plead guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution in the coming weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
Plasencia is among five individuals charged in the wake of Perry’s Oct. 28, 2023, death. The 54-year-old “Friends” actor died from acute ketamine toxicity at his Los Angeles home, where he was found unresponsive in a hot tub.
Plasencia’s plea agreement reveals he supplied Perry and his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, with ketamine vials, lozenges, and syringes between Sept. 30 and Oct. 12, 2023. He also admitted to administering ketamine to Perry in multiple locations, including at his home and in a parking lot in Long Beach.
According to court documents, Iwamasa administered the fatal dose of ketamine and pleaded guilty last year. Two other defendants, Eric Fleming and Mark Chavez, have also entered guilty pleas. The fifth defendant, Jasveen Sangha — allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen” — has pleaded not guilty and faces trial in August.