A former physician who supplied ketamine to \u201cFriends\u201d star Matthew Perry in the weeks leading up to the actor\u2019s death was sentenced Wednesday to serve 30 months \u2014 about two and a half years \u2014 in federal prison.<\/p>\n
Salvador Plasencia, known to Perry as \u201cDr. P,\u201d according to court filings, appeared before a federal judge Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles. He immediately surrendered after the hearing to begin serving his time.<\/p>\n
Plasencia was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay a fine of $5,600.<\/p>\n
Plasencia pleaded guilty to four felony counts of ketamine distribution in July. He was one of five people charged last year in connection with Perry\u2019s death in October 2023.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Plasencia to three years, acknowledging that Plasencia did not provide the ketamine that killed the actor. But, the prosecutors said in a sentencing memo, the doctor\u2019s \u201cegregious breaches of trust and abandonment of his oath to \u2018do no harm\u2019 undoubtedly contributed to the harm that Mr. Perry suffered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plasencia\u2019s attorneys asked that he be placed on three years of supervised release.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the punishment Mr. Plasencia has already experienced, and will continue to experience for many years to come, a sentence of imprisonment is neither necessary nor warranted,\u201d his lawyers wrote in a sentencing memo. \u201cHe has already lost his medical license, his clinic, and his career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perry\u2019s parents detailed their grief in emotional victim impact statements submitted ahead of sentencing. Suzanne and Keith Morrison, Perry\u2019s mother and stepfather, wrote that they believed Plasencia \u201cis among the most culpable of all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s a little easier to understand when a person commits a terrible crime. Maybe in the heat of passion, or because that person makes one very bad decision. Or some drug dealer, bad to the bone, who takes the calculated risk of getting caught and spending many years in prison. But \u2026 a doctor? Who trades on respect, and trust?\u201d they wrote. \u201cNo one alive and in touch with the world at all could have been unaware of Matthew\u2019s struggles. But this doctor conspired to break his most important vows, repeatedly, sneaked through the night to meet his victim in secret. For what, a few thousand dollars? So he could feed on the vulnerability of our son.\u201d<\/p>\n
John and Debbie Perry, Perry\u2019s father and stepmother, addressed Plasencia directly in their letter, writing that their son\u2019s recovery \u201ccounted on you saying NO.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat ever were you thinking? How long did you possibly see supplying Matthew countless doses without his death to eventually follow? Did you care? Did you think,\u201d they wrote. \u201cHow many more people have you harmed that we don\u2019t know about?\u201d<\/p>\n
Plasencia was one of five co-conspirators named in an indictment last year, including Dr. Mark Chavez, Perry\u2019s acquaintance Erik Fleming, and former personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa. All of them have since pleaded guilty. Jasveen Sangha, a North Hollywood woman allegedly known as the \u201cKetamine Queen,\u201d has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing for selling drugs to Perry. <\/p>\n
Perry, 54, was found dead<\/a> in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home two years ago on Oct. 28. He died from \u201cacute effects of ketamine,\u201d<\/a> according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner\u2019s office. Authorities say the actor\u2019s final dose, injected by Iwamasa, was not provided by Plasencia.<\/p>\n According to the plea agreement, Plasencia was the owner and operator of Malibu Canyon Urgent Care, a clinic in Calabasas. He had applied and received authorization from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to dispense, administer and prescribe narcotics and other controlled substances, as long as those prescriptions were for a legitimate medical purpose.<\/p>\n In late September 2023, about a month before Perry\u2019s death, Plasencia was introduced to Perry by one of his patients, who said the actor was a \u201chigh-profile person\u201d willing to pay \u201ccash and lots of thousands\u201d for ketamine treatment, according to the agreement.<\/p>\n