A doctor who pleaded guilty of being involved in a scheme to supply ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before his overdose death has been sentenced to eight months of home confinement.

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence that included three years of supervised release to 55-year-old Mark Chavez in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.

Before the sentence was delivered, Chavez addressed the judge and said he had lost a loved one recently and understood the grief that Perry’s death had caused.

“I just want to say my heart goes out to the Perry family,” he said.

He acquired ketamine and gave it to Salvador Plasencia, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison earlier this month for selling ketamine to Perry in the months leading up to his death.

Man in suit walks along a street with cameras pointed at him.

Mark Chavez admitted to obtaining the ketamine from a wholesale distributor on false pretences.  (AP Photo: Damian Dovarganes, File)

Chavez’s attorneys emphasised the difference between the two doctors and said Chavez “accepted responsibility early” by cooperating with investigators and voluntarily giving up his medical licence ahead of his detention hearing.

His attorney Matthew Binninger said these were “real steps that someone takes toward accountability”.

He called the sentence a “fair and just outcome” for the case.

Perry had been taking ketamine, a surgical aesthetic, legally as a treatment for depression. 

When his regular doctor would not provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia, who admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was an addict.

Plasencia texted Chavez that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.

A man in his early 40s looking at the camera, wearing thick rimmed glasses and a suit.

Salvador Plasencia earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine to the actor. (Reuters: David Swanson)

Chavez admitted to obtaining the ketamine from a wholesale distributor on false pretences and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. 

He has not been in custody.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on sitcom Friends, when he became one of the biggest TV stars of his generation. 

He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.

Chavez will also be expected to do community service.

He is the second person to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death in 2023.

The other three defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months.

The medical examiner ruled ketamine was the primary cause of death.

AP