A California doctor was sentenced to 30 months in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to illegally providing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry, whose October 2023 drowning death was linked to the sedative.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who ran an urgent-care clinic near Los Angeles, admitted in July to four felony counts of illegal distribution of ketamine. He faced a potential maximum sentence of up to 40 years. U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also fined Plasencia $5,600 and said, “You and others helped Mr. Perry stay on the road to such an ending while continuing to feed his addiction.”
Perry, 54, was found face down and unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023. Authorities said an autopsy determined he died from the “acute effects of ketamine,” which, together with other factors, caused him to lose consciousness and drown.
Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties. It is sometimes used off-label for depression and other psychiatric conditions but is also subject to recreational abuse.
As part of his plea, Plasencia acknowledged injecting Perry with ketamine multiple times in the weeks before the actor’s death, including at Perry’s home and once in the back seat of a parked car. Plasencia surrendered his medical license in September.
Federal prosecutors said Perry had previously received ketamine infusions at a clinic for depression and anxiety and had become dependent. When that clinic declined to increase his dose, prosecutors say Perry sought out other providers willing to supply higher amounts.
Plasencia told investigators he was introduced to Perry by a patient and obtained ketamine from co-defendant Dr. Mark Chavez of San Diego. Court records include a text Plasencia sent to Chavez that read, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.” Prosecutors say Perry soon also obtained ketamine from another co-defendant nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen,” and that injections by his personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, contributed to the fatal overdose.
In court, Plasencia expressed remorse, saying he took full responsibility: “I failed Mr. Perry, I failed his family, and I failed the community. I’m just so sorry.” Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, delivered a victim impact statement, confronting Plasencia and invoking medical responsibilities: “I want you to see this is the mother,” she said, calling his actions “a bad thing to do.”
Four other defendants — Chavez, 55; Kenneth Iwamasa, 60; Jasveen Sangha, 42, known as the “Ketamine Queen”; and intermediary dealer Erik Fleming, 56 — have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death and are scheduled for sentencing in the coming weeks.
