Mark Chavez pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, which carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years.
A doctor who is one of five people criminally charged for their alleged roles in Matthew Perry’s death entered a guilty plea Wednesday in Los Angeles, according to news reports.
Mark Chavez pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, which carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years, CBS News reported.
On Oct. 28, 2023, Perry was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his home in Los Angeles. The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner determined that the cause of Perry’s death was “the acute effects of ketamine.” The department noted that drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine – a medication used to treat opioid-use disorder – were contributing factors.
In August, federal prosecutors charged Chavez and four other individuals in connection with Perry’s death. The other defendants are Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen”; Salvador Plasencia, a Los Angeles-area physician; Erik Fleming; and Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s former live-in assistant.
According to a federal indictment, in late September 2023, Plasencia learned that Perry – whose had a well-documented history of drug addiction – was interested in obtaining ketamine.
After learning about Perry’s interest in ketamine, Plasencia contacted Chavez – who previously operated a ketamine clinic – to obtain ketamine to sell to Perry, according to the indictment. In text messages to Chavez, Plasencia discussed how much to charge Perry for the ketamine, stating: “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out.”
In September and October 2023, Plasencia distributed ketamine to Perry and Iwamasa on at least seven occasions, according to the indictment. Plasencia knew that Iwamasa had never received medical training and knew little, if anything, about administering or treating patients with controlled substances, prosecutors allege.
“These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in August when the charges were announced.
In his plea agreement, Chavez admitted that he sold ketamine to Plasencia, including ketamine that he had diverted from his former ketamine clinic. Chavez also obtained additional ketamine to transfer to Plasencia by making false representations to a wholesale ketamine distributor and by falsifying a prescription in the name of a former patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent, according to federal prosecutors.
Plasencia is charged with seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.
Sangha and Plasencia are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Sangha also is charged with one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
On Aug. 8, Fleming pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Fleming admitted in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry. He also admitted that he obtained the ketamine from his source, Sangha, and distributed 50 vials of ketamine to Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Iwamasa – half of them four days before Perry’s death.
Iwamasa, who pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including performing multiple injections on the day Perry died.
In August, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram asserted: “Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials.”