One of the doctors who had been arrested and charged over the death of actor Matthew Perry has pleaded guilty.
As reported by the Telegraph, 54-year-old Dr. Mark Chavez signed a plea agreement with prosecutors in August and appeared in court on Wednesday (October 2) to officially plead guilty to one charge of illegally distributing ketamine to Perry.
The beloved Friends star died on October 28, 2023, after being found unresponsive in his hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
A subsequent post-mortem revealed that the actor had died following “acute effects of ketamine“.
An investigation later unearthed a disturbing drug ring surrounding the 17 Again star – leading to the arrests of five individuals; Dr. Salvador Plasencia, Dr. Mark Chavez, Jasveen Sangha, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Fleming.
Dr. Mark Chavez’s appearance in front of the US District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday means he is the third individual out of the suspects to plead guilty.
US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett scheduled Dr. Chavez’s sentence hearing for April 2, 2025. He was also released on a $50,000 bond.
Reports state that Dr. Chavez – along with two of the other suspects – had been offered lesser charges in return for cooperation as they continue to investigate both Dr. Salvador Plasencia and the so-called “Ketamine Queen” Jasveen Sangha.
Kenneth Iwamasa – Perry’s long-time assistant – pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. Additionally, Erik Fleming – was an acquaintance of Perry and is accused of supplying the actor with drugs from Sangha – also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Both Sangha and Dr. Plasencia have pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them.
Dr. Chavez graduated from UCLA Medical School in 2004 and completed his residency at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island, New York, per MedPageToday.
As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors state that he has admitted to selling ketamine to Dr. Plasencia, including vials that he had diverted from his former ketamine clinic, per Justice.gov. This ketamine was then allegedly passed on to Iwamasa for Perry’s use.
Dr. Chavez has also admitted to falsifying statements on forms, saying the drug would not be sold to a third party or distributed or used for any other purpose.
Court documents claim that Perry spent approximately $55,000 for the drug from the two doctors, which the New York Post should cost just $12 per vial.
In a text message shared in the court documents, Dr. Plasencia allegedly texted Dr. Chavez saying: “I wonder how much this moron will pay”.
Referring to that message, Civil Trial Attorney Tre Lovell said: “That just shows evil, that is clearly not a medicinal text, that is a text of an opportunist who just wants to make money.”
Following his arraignment on August 30, Dr. Chavez’s lawyer – Matthew Binninger – described his client as “incredibly remorseful” and was attempting to “do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here”.