Second conviction for the death of Matthew Perry, the actor of Friends died of an overdose in October 2023. This Tuesday, the Los Angeles court read the sentence handed down against Dr. Mark Chávez. The San Diego, California, doctor faces up to 10 years in prison on a single charge, conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Ultimately, the judge decided on a very light sentence: eight months of house arrest and 300 hours of community service. In addition, he had already handed in his medical license. Shortly before hearing the sentence, he said: “As a doctor, I have had the wonderful opportunity to help improve people’s lives, but I have also had to deal with tragedies. My heart goes out to the Perry family.”
The first conviction in this case took place on December 3 and was that of another colleague of Chávez, Salvador Plasencia, sentenced to 30 months in prison. Even if the sentence could be increased to 40 years in prison, the prosecution had requested three years for him, and ultimately, it was two and a half years. Dr. Plasencia had already lost his medical license and his clinic, and also had to pay a fine of $5,600 (approximately 4,800 euros).
The prosecution had requested that Chávez spend six months at home because he had cooperated with the investigation; His lawyers said he was “very remorseful” and was “trying to do everything possible to cooperate, to help in this situation.” The difference between his sentence and that of Plasencia lies in this help. Of the five defendants in Perry’s death, Chávez was the first to plead guilty, in October 2024. At that point, only two of them had spoken out and pleaded guilty; To date, all five have pleaded guilty.
“As doctors, their behavior was atrocious,” the prosecutor said. “The difference was what they did when they were discovered.” Doctors taught Perry’s assistant how to inject him with ketamine, but Chavez never met Perry in person. Of course, the judge criticizes him for allowing Plasencia to continue the treatments, even though he knew that his colleague did not have much experience. According to the newspaper Los Angeles TimesChávez plans to move to Mexico with his father after serving his sentence.
Chávez and Plasencia played key roles in Perry’s case. Their text messages became infamous, where they made fun of the actor and how much he paid them to provide him with vials of ketamine, very cheap for them. The two doctors sold vials of ketamine to the well-known actor for $2,000, while they bought them for just $12 each. The prosecutor in charge of the investigation explained that the actor, known for his role as Chandler Bing in the television comedy, had paid $55,000 for around twenty bottles.
Perry’s parents, who decided to attend the sentencing hearing in Plasencia two weeks ago, sent a letter to the court expressing their regret. “No one alive and in touch with the world could have been unaware of Matthew’s plight. But this doctor conspired to break his most important vows, repeatedly sneaking out in the night to secretly meet with his victim. Why, a few thousand dollars? To take advantage of our son’s vulnerability…and bragging, in the process, with the telling question: ‘I wonder how much this idiot will pay. Let’s find out’. Some things are very hard to understand,” the mother and father wrote. father-in-law of Perry, Suzanne and Keith Morrison.
The convictions of three people are still pending. Chief among them is Jasveen Sangha, a 42-year-old British-American woman known as The queen of ketamine. His sentencing was scheduled for last Wednesday, but was ultimately postponed until February. This is the one who faces the heaviest sentence: up to 65 years in prison. Last August, Sangha made the decision to finally plead guilty to five federal charges: one for maintaining a drug manufacturing and distribution business, a second for distribution of a substance resulting in the death of Perry, and three others for distribution of ketamine.
The second defendant is a 55-year-old man named Erik Fleming, who helped Sangha obtain ketamine. He faces two charges, one for distribution of ketamine resulting in death and a second for conspiracy. This could mean up to 25 years in prison. The third and last of the three missing suspects is Kenneth Iwamasa. He was the actor’s personal assistant for years. In fact, he was the last person to see him alive before the actor drowned in the hot tub at his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Iwamasa helped him use the ketamine the doctors gave him. He faces only one charge, that of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, and faces a sentence of 15 years in prison.
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