Matthew Perry death: Doctor pleads guilty in Friends actor's drug overdose case

One of two California doctors who were among five people charged in the overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of illegally distributing the drug ketamine.

Dr. Mark Chavez entered the plea during an appearance in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. When the verdict is announced, he faces up to ten years in prison.

Another doctor accused in the case, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, has pleaded not guilty, as has co-defendant Jasveen Sangha, who authorities said was an illegal supplier of the drug and known as the “Ketamine Queen.” The couple's trial is scheduled for March.

Perry's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who admitted to giving Perry injections, and the alleged middleman who said he received ketamine from Sangha, have already pleaded guilty to the charges against them.

Authorities said Plasencia purchased ketamine from Chavez, and in text messages to Chavez discussing the amount Perry should be charged for the drug, he wrote: “I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay.” “

According to court documents, Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry and provided vials that the assistant injected him with.

According to a December 2023 autopsy report, Perry died at age 54 in October 2023 from the “acute effects” of ketamine and other factors that caused him to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub.

The actor had publicly acknowledged decades of drug abuse, including during the years he played the role of Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s television sitcom “Friends.”

Matt Binninger, Chavez's attorney, told reporters in August that his client was “doing everything in his power to cooperate and assist in this situation.”

“He’s incredibly remorseful,” Binninger said.

The lawyer added that Chavez's regret was not due to Perry's celebrity, but to the fact that “someone who wanted treatment died.”