A second doctor to have pleaded guilty surrounding the death of Matthew Perry has received his sentence. The Friends icon died aged 54 after he was found drowned in the hot tub at his home after taking ketamine in 2023.
Now, Dr Mark Chavez has received his sentence. In October 2024, Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. And he lined up a deal following further arrests in the case.
The doctor admitted to selling ketamine to Dr. Salvador Plasencia. This is then said to have been sold to the actor in the weeks prior to his overdose.
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AFP via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Chavez was sentenced to eight months’ home confinement. United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also ordered him to complete 300 hours of community service.
Prosecutors had said that the ketamine obtained by Chavez had been done so fraudulently. It’s claimed he submitted a prescription in the name of a patient without the patient’s knowledge or consent.
Chavez’s sentence comes weeks after a first doctor found out their own fate. Plasencia received a 30 months prison sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine.
During the hearing, Plasencia broke into tears. He apologised to Perry’s family as he said: “I should have protected him.”
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AFP via Getty Images)
He also said he would one day need to tell his son, who is two, “about the time I didn’t protect another mother’s son.” Speaking to the court, the doctor said: “I failed Matthew Perry. I should have protected him… I’m just so sorry.”
Ahead of Plasencia’s sentencing, Perry’s dad John and stepmum Debbie wrote an emotional letter as part of a ‘victim impact statement’ submitted to the judge. It read: “Your motives? I can’t imagine. A doctor whose life is devoted to helping people?”
Judge Sherilyn Peace also told Plasencia: “You and others helped Mr Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction. You exploited Mr Perry’s addiction for your own profit.”
The doctor is one of five people who have pleaded guilty to giving Perry drugs. Others include British woman Jasveen Sangha, 42, who is dubbed the “ketamine queen”.
Plasencia, who runs an urgent care clinic in California, had been set to go on trial in August prior to reaching a plea agreement. His attorneys had previously argued prison time is unnecessary given “the punishment Mr. Plasencia has already experienced, and will continue to experience for many years to come”.
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Source: Mirror
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