One of the doctors charged in connection with the overdose death of beloved “Friends” actor Matthew Perry is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks. 54-year-old Dr. Mark Chavez, a San Diego physician, reached a plea deal with prosecutors earlier this month and is set to appear in a Los Angeles federal court on Friday for an initial bond hearing and arraignment.
Chavez is the third individual to plead guilty following Perry’s tragic passing last year, with the other two being the actor’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and an acquaintance named Erik Fleming. All three are cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office as they build their case against the two remaining defendants – Jasve Sangha, a drug dealer dubbed the “ketamine queen,” and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, a Santa Monica doctor known as “Dr. P.”
In his plea agreement, Chavez acknowledged that he procured ketamine from his former clinic as well as from a wholesale supplier by presenting a forged prescription. If he pleads guilty as expected, he could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The investigation revealed that Perry’s troubles began when unscrupulous medical professionals exploited their trusted positions, ultimately leading him to street dealers who provided ketamine in unmarked vials. Chavez provided Plasencia with ketamine lozenges that were administered orally to Perry, which he obtained by writing a prescription in a patient’s name without her consent and misleading wholesale distributors.
Plasencia then sold these drugs to Perry for $4,500, inquiring if Chavez could continue supplying them, aiming to become Perry’s preferred source. In a text to Chavez, Plasencia remarked, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, later confessed to injecting the actor multiple times with ketamine on the day of his death. The coroner’s report indicated that ketamine was the primary factor in Perry’s death, with the levels found in his system comparable to those used for general anesthesia during surgical procedures.
Chavez’s attorney, Matthew Binninger, expressed that his client is “deeply remorseful” and has already initiated an interim suspension of his medical license, effectively preventing him from practicing medicine. “He is eager to do the right thing,” Binninger added, “and will continue to cooperate moving forward.”
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stated on August 15 when announcing the charges that “the doctors exploited Perry’s addiction history during the last months of his life to provide him with ketamine in quantities they knew were hazardous.” The tragic loss of the beloved actor has sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry and beyond.
