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Crime, Law and Justice
Ayana Archie, NPR

Doctor charged in Matthew Perry case pleads guilty to conspiracy to dispense ketamine

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Matthew Perry appears at the premiere of Ride in Los Angeles on April 28, 2015.
Matthew Perry appears at the premiere of Ride in Los Angeles on April 28, 2015.
Rich Fury/Invision/AP

Mark Chavez, a doctor accused of giving ketamine to the late Friends star Matthew Perry, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute the drug.

Perry died in October 2023 primarily from the effects of ketamine. His assistant allegedly administered the drug shortly before his death, and he later drowned in the pool of his Los Angeles home. Other factors such as coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, contributed to his death.

Chavez appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday for a change of plea hearing. Chavez said in his plea agreement that he and a second doctor, Salvador Plasencia, began supplying ketamine to Perry beginning around September 2023.

Plasencia, who has also been charged in connection to Perry’s death, allegedly called Chavez to obtain ketamine vials and lozenges for Perry in exchange for money. Chavez admitted to having ketamine on hand after filling a fraudulent prescription for thirty 200-milligram lozenges earlier that year.

Chavez and Plasencia knew each other for at least 20 years, and Chavez knew that Plasencia did not have much experience with using ketamine. Plasencia allegedly said Perry was using the drug to stop smoking, which Chavez knew was not an effective method to curb the habit.

Ketamine is used as an anesthetic and to treat depression. It can cause side effects, such as trouble speaking, headaches, loopiness and spikes in blood pressure.

Chavez said Plasencia, who was allegedly injecting Perry with the drug, questioned him about how to properly diagnose and administer ketamine, and monitor patients using ketamine. Plasencia was also allegedly leaving vials with Perry and his assistant so Perry could administer the drug himself.

In one instance, Plasencia allegedly gave Perry three injections of ketamine worth 260 milligrams, and was planning to give him another 100 milligram dose, all within an hour, which Chavez said he knew was dangerous.

Perry’s assistant allegedly administered ketamine to Perry on the day he died and has also been charged in connection to his death.

“At all relevant times, defendant was fully aware that selling vials of ketamine to a patient for self-administration was illegal, far outside the scope of professional practice, and without a legitimate medical purpose,” the plea deal says.

In several text message exchanges with Plasencia, Chavez said he was “working on getting more” ketamine and “you should sell him the troches,” or lozenges. Plasencia allegedly said in texts that “[If] today goes well we may have repeat business,” and “I think it would be best served not having him look elsewhere and [be] his go to,” according to the plea deal.

In securing ketamine from wholesalers, Chavez admitted to lying on forms about selling the drugs to a third party and falsely listed his place of employment as Dreamscape Ketamine.

Chavez left Dreamscape Ketamine in July 2023 after a dispute with his business partner, and took several prescription drugs with him. He transferred some to a medical facility, but kept others, including vials of ketamine.

In all, Chavez distributed at least twenty-two 100-milligram vials and nine lozenges of ketamine to Plasencia with the intent to sell them to Perry.

On October 12, Perry had an adverse reaction to the ketamine, in which his blood pressure spiked. Around the same time, Chavez learned he was being investigated by the Medical Board of California and ended his business relationship with Plasencia.

Perry died October 28. In a call between Plasencia and Chavez, Plasencia allegedly said he was not worried about being linked to Perry’s death because he had not seen him in weeks.

Chavez is currently out on bond and has waived his right to be indicted by a grand jury. He is facing a maximum of 10 years in prison and will be sentenced in April.

Copyright 2024, NPR