LOS ANGELES -- A San Diego doctor became the third person to plead guilty in the case of Matthew Perry's fatal drug overdose, as prosecutors collect cooperators in an attempt to convict two bigger targets they say are responsible for the death of the "Friends" star.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, entered the plea Wednesday to a felony count of conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine in federal court in Los Angeles, after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors in July.
Chavez agreed to cooperate as the U.S. Attorneys Office pursues more serious charges against Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who prosecutors say gave ketamine directly to Perry. The other major target in the investigation is Jasmine Sangha, an alleged dealer who prosecutors say was known as the "ketamine queen" of Los Angeles and supplied the doses that killed Perry last year.
Chavez stood in court with his lawyer and answered dozens of questions from Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett. He agreed to give up his right to trial and other rights.
He listened to prosecutors as they read through every instance of him meeting with Plasencia between San Diego and Los Angeles to hand off ketamine he got using fraudulent prescriptions. In all, he admitted to supplying 22 5-milliliter vials of ketamine and nine ketamine lozenges.
Chavez cleared his throat when a prosecutor described Perry's death.
"Are you pleading guilty because you did the things the prosecutors described?" Garnett asked Chavez.
"Yes, your honour," he said.
Chavez remains free on bond until his April 2 sentencing. He has turned over his passport and agreed to surrender his medical licence, among other conditions.
The judge told him that she is not bound by any agreement or recommendation and can still sentence him to the full 10 years allowed by law. But he is likely to be sentenced to far less time because of the plea and his cooperation with prosecutors.
His lawyer Matthew Binninger spoke only briefly to reporters outside the courthouse.
"Mark entered his plea of guilty and that's now public record," Binninger said. "You accept responsibility and then you set sentencing."
Also working with federal prosecutors are Perry's assistant, who admitted to helping him obtain and inject ketamine, and a Perry acquaintance, who admitted to acting as a drug messenger and middleman.
Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28, 2023. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common.
Perry began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him. About a month before the actor's death, he found Plasencia, who in turn allegedly asked Chavez to obtain the drug for him.
"I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.
After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry's "go-to," prosecutors said.
While reading allegations in court Wednesday, prosecutors described a text exchange in which Plasencia asked Chavez if he approved of what they were doing.
"Depends on your tolerance for risk," Chavez said.
When Plasencia asked him if he was interested in starting a ketamine clinic, Chavez said he might be on board, so long as there was no "shady stuff."
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges Aug. 15 that "the doctors preyed on Perry's history of addiction in the final months of his life last year to provide him with ketamine in amounts they knew were dangerous."
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on "Friends," when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC's megahit sitcom.
