Doctor who supplied ketamine to Matthew Perry gets 2.5 years in prison

A Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday sentenced Dr Salvador Plasencia to two and a half years in prison for illegally selling ketamine to actor Matthew Perry in the months leading up to the Friends star’s fatal overdose, as per reports.

As per reports, US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett imposed the sentence, which also includes two years of supervised release and a USD 5,600 fine. Although the judge clarified that the ketamine Plasencia sold was not the same batch that caused Perry’s death, she said the doctor contributed to the actor’s downward spiral.

Plasencia, 44, was reportedly taken into custody immediately after the hearing as his mother wept in the courtroom. His attorneys said he was prepared to begin serving his sentence without delay.

Perry’s mother, stepmother and two half-sisters addressed the court in emotional victim-impact statements. His sister Madeline Morrison said the loss had punched a crater in her life.

Perry, who battled addiction for decades, rose to global fame as Chandler Bing on Friends, starring alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer during the show’s ten-season run from 1994 to 2004.

Plasencia is the first among five defendants to be sentenced in the investigation into Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023. Court filings showed he had mocked the actor in private messages, calling him a moron who could be exploited for money.

Prosecutors had sought a three-year prison term, while the defence argued for a single day behind bars and probation. Perry’s mother urged the court to recognise her son’s resilience despite lifelong struggles.

Plasencia had previously agreed to plead guilty to federal charges involving the illegal distribution of ketamine. Under the plea deal, he admitted to supplying Perry with high doses of the drug even though the actor had no legitimate medical need for it. He faces up to 40 years in prison and fines of up to USD 2 million for the four counts of ketamine distribution outlined in the agreement.