Doctor pleads guilty to Matthew Perry's death

Perry died at age 54 in October 2023 from ketamine and other factors that caused him to lose consciousness and drown in a hot tub, according to a December 2023 autopsy report.

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Pleaded guilty: Mark Chavez, Photo: Reuters
Pleaded guilty: Mark Chavez, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

One of two California doctors who are among five people charged in the overdose death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry has pleaded guilty to charges of illegal distribution of ketamine. Dr. Marko Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The other doctor charged in the case, Salvador Plasencia, pleaded not guilty, as did Jezvin Sanga, who prosecutors determined was a dealer known as the "Queen of Ketamine." The two are scheduled to go on trial in March.

Peri's personal assistant, Kenneth Ivamasa, who admitted to injecting the drug into Peri, and a middleman who said he obtained ketamine from Sanga have already pleaded guilty.

Prosecutors said Plasencia bought ketamine from Chavez, and in messages to Chavez about the amount he would ask Perry for the drug, he wrote: "I wonder how much this moron will pay."

According to court records, Plasencia administered the ketamine to Perry and provided the doses that were injected by the assistant.

Perry died at the age of 54 in October 2023 from ketamine and other factors that caused him to pass out and drown in a hot tub, according to an autopsy report in December 2023. The actor had been public for years about drug abuse even while playing Chandler Bing in the hit television sitcom "Friends".

Matt Binninger, Chavez's attorney, told reporters in August that his client was doing everything in his power to cooperate, to help in this situation.

"He is very remorseful," Bininger said.

The lawyer added that Chávez's regret was not because Peri was a celebrity, but because someone who was trying to receive treatment had died.

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