A doctor who arranged to sell massive vials of ketamine for Matthew Perry in the month before his overdose death will plead guilty to a single federal charge, authorities said Friday.
Mark Chavez has agreed to plead guilty to one federal count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, according to a Justice Department statement. The 54-year-old San Diego doctor once met Perry at the Long Beach Aquarium parking lot to inject the “Friends” actor, who would be found later that month face-down in the hot tub behind his Pacific Palisades home.
Chavez is among five people charged earlier this month in the October death that was ruled a ketamine overdose with drowning as a factor. Chavez admitted to diverting vials of the drug from his former ketamine clinic and selling it to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who provided it to Perry in a broader illegal distribution scheme.
The other defendants include dealers Jasveen Sangha, known in elite Hollywood circles as “The Ketamine Queen”; Erik Fleming, an industry-adjacent friend of Perry’s; and Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who was helping Perry with injections the day of his death.
Chavez’s plea deal includes an admission of his role in the conspiracy, acknowledging that he sold ketamine that was ultimately used by Perry, contributing to his death. He could face up to 10 years in federal prison.
Plasencia, who was charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine and other related offenses, has pleaded not guilty, and is scheduled for an Oct. 15 trial. Fleming pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death. And prosecutors have charged Sangha with conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of the drug that caused Perry’s death. She pleaded not guilty, with trial set for Oct. 8.
As for Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death earlier this month and faces up to 15 years.
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