LOS ANGELES—Dr. Mark Chavez, one of the two doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death, is expected to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine. The 54-year-old doctor from San Diego reached a plea agreement with prosecutors earlier this month and will be the third person to plead guilty in relation to Perry’s fatal overdose last year.
Chavez has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they continue their investigation into others involved in the case. This includes the doctor who worked with Chavez to sell ketamine to Perry, as well as Perry’s assistant and an acquaintance who admitted their involvement in obtaining and distributing ketamine.
The main targets of the investigation are Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who is accused of illegally selling ketamine to Perry before his death, and Jasveen Sangha, a woman alleged to have sold Perry the lethal dose of ketamine. Both Plasencia and Sangha have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
In his plea agreement, Chavez admitted that he obtained ketamine from his former clinic and through a wholesale distributor using a fraudulent prescription. If convicted after pleading guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Perry was found dead on October 28th by his assistant. The medical examiner determined that ketamine was the primary cause of death. Prior to his passing, Perry had been using ketamine for off-label treatment of depression under the supervision of his regular doctor.
Seeking more ketamine than his doctor would provide him with, about a month before his death Perry connected with Plasencia through whom he asked Chavez for more drugs. After exchanging at least four vials of ketamine for $4,500 with Plasencia, he expressed interest in continuing their arrangement.
According to Attorney Martin Estrada who announced the charges on August 15th: “the doctors preyed on Perry’s history of addiction in providing him dangerous amounts of ketamine.” Plasencia faces seven counts related distribution charges along with two additional charges for allegedly falsifying records after Perry’s death.
Both Plasencia and Sangha are scheduled for court appearances next week while separate trial dates have been set for October. Prosecutors are seeking a single trial which may be delayed until next year due to scheduling conflicts.
Perry battled addiction throughout his life since starring as Chandler Bing on NBC’s hit sitcom “Friends” alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Lisa Kudrow Matt LeBlanc David Schwimmer from 1994-2004.