A disgraced ex-doctor got a wrist-slap sentence Tuesday for his role in “Friends” star Matthew Perry’s overdose death — as his lawyers pleaded for leniency, saying he’s been forced to drive for Uber after giving up his medical license.
Mark Chavez, 55, was hit with eight months of home confinement by Los Angeles federal Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett after he admitted in October to supplying 22 vials and nine lozenges of powerful medical anesthesia ketamine to the actor — despite knowing his struggles with drug addiction.
The judge also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service and three years of supervised release.
Disgraced ex-doctor Mark Chavez was sentenced for his role in Matthew Perry’s overdose death. Toby Canham for NY Post
Prosecutors agreed to the lenient sentence since Chavez took responsibility for his actions early on in the probe and since he cooperated with the feds, prosecutors wrote in court papers earlier this month.
Chavez, a San Diego doctor who gave up his medical license after he was implicated in Perry’s death, did not supply the actor with the batch of ketamine that ultimately killed him.
“A sentence of home confinement would further sanction defendant and require him to reflect how his callous profit-seeking violated the trust of patients and cost him not only his license, but his liberty,” the feds wrote on Dec. 3.
Meanwhile, Chavez’s lawyers wrote in their own papers earlier this month that the former doctor should get time served since he’s already lost his medical license, lost his reputation and has since been forced to make a meager living as an Uber driver.
“He now supports himself through ride-share driving, earns modest income, and has no remaining assets after the loss of his career, his reputation, and his financial stability,” defense attorneys wrote in papers from Dec. 3.
Matthew Perry overdosed on ketamine on Oct. 28, 2023. Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
“Although Mr. Chavez accepts full responsibility for his actions, the record independently establishes that he never met Matthew Perry, never entered his residence, never administered medication to him, and did not supply the ketamine that caused his death,” the defense team continued.
In the weeks before Perry’s tragic Oct. 28, 2023 death, Chavez sourced the drugs for pal Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who once asked Chavez of Perry in a text, “how much this moron will pay?”
Plasencia, 43, who was sentenced earlier this month to 2 1/2 years for his role in Perry’s overdose, told Chavez on Sept. 30, 2023 that he had “a famous patient” who “offered to pay a premium” for vials of the drug, prosecutors wrote.
Chavez — who used to run a ketamine clinic for off-label depression treatment — got his buddy doctor the drugs on three occasions despite knowing Plasencia was giving Perry the drugs in a risky way, including outside of a medical facility without proper observation and giving the actor dangerous amounts of the drugs that once caused him to have a bad reaction.
Matthew Perry was taking ketamine at his home in Los Angeles. WFLA
Plasencia told Chavez how he once injected Perry “in the back seat of a car parked at a public parking lot of an aquarium in Long Beach, Calif.,” and Chavez “reprimanded Plasencia” for “dosing him” in a public place where kids were, prosecutors wrote.
Still, Chavez gave Plasencia batches of the drugs on Sept. 30, Oct. 4 and Oct. 10, including by telling distributors he was getting the drugs for Dreamscape Ketamine — a company he stopped working at in July 2023, prosecutors claimed.
Plasencia told Chavez it was “like a bad movie,” the first time he went to Perry’s home and injected him with the drug, court papers alleged.
Chavez supplied the drugs to Dr. Salvador Plasencia (pictured) who gave them to Perry. David Buchan
Just a few days later on Oct. 2, 2023, Plasencia asked Chavez to get him more vials, telling the friend “if today goes well we may have repeat business … let’s do everything we can to make that happen,” prosecutors claimed.
But after the third time sourcing the drugs for Perry, Chavez found out the California Medical Board and law enforcement were investigating him for improperly getting drugs through his old clinic. He didn’t get any more ketamine for Plasencia.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
Three others have also been charged, taken guilty pleas in the case and are set to be sentenced in January and February.
“Ketamine Queen” drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, 42, admitted to supplying Perry with the dose of ketamine that killed him.
Perry’s pal, Erik Fleming, who connected the actor with Sangha two weeks before he died, is also awaiting sentencing.
And Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, will also be sentenced after he injected the actor with the drugs.
From 1994 to 2004, Perry played the iconic role of Chandler Bing on the NBC Megahit sitcom, starring alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons.
Perry had well-known drug and alcohol addiction problems that began after he shot to fame.