San Diego doctor Mike Chavez is the third person to plead guilty in the case of actor Matthew Perry’s ketamine overdose.
Chavez altered his plea to guilty in federal court in Los Angeles for conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine. Chavez agreed to the plea deal from the US Attorney’s Office in July. The prosecution is seeking cooperators to build a case against two more prominent suspects that they believe to be the ones truly responsible for the death of the Friends star.
Chavez is free on bail until April 2, 2025, when he will be sentenced.
Jasmine Sangha, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, and Matthew Perry’s doctor
The US attorney’s office offered Chavez the plea deal in exchange for cooperating in their more significant case against Jasmine Sangha, who they say is a dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” and supplied, along with Dr. Salvador Plasencia, the dose that led to Perry’s overdose. The prosecution claims that Plasencia gave Perry the ketamine directly. Both are due for trial in March 2025.
Perry was already on a prescription of ketamine, but he wanted more than what had been prescribed to him. Ketamine is used to treat depression and anxiety. Looking for more, he found Plasencia, who then asked Chavez to get Perry’s ketamine supply.
According to the indictment, Plasencia and Chavez exchanged texts about Perry. In a text Plasencia sent to Chavez, he said, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.” Plasencia sold the drugs for $4,500 to Perry and asked Chavez if he could continue supplying Plasencia and, in turn, Perry.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the prosecution read a series of texts that described an exchange in which Plasencia asked Chavez if he wanted to start a ketamine clinic. Chavez said he’d be interested as long as it wasn’t sketchy.
In the texts, Plasencia asked Matthew Perry’s doctor if he approved of what they were doing with the actor to which he replied, “Depends on your tolerance for risk.”
The case so far
Matthew Perry died at the age of 53 in October 2023. In the autopsy, it was found that Perry had an abnormally high concentration of ketamine in his bloodstream. Upon further investigation, it was determined he died from the “acute effects” of ketamine.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, pleaded guilty and admitted to administering the ketamine to Perry. In the weeks before he passed, the prosecution said that Iwamasa, Chavez, and Plasencia supplied the actor with $50,000 worth of ketamine.
Matthew Perry’s doctor could see up to 10 years in prison after the plea deal. In exchange, he must cooperate with the prosecution in their cases against Sangha and Plasencia.
Chavez’s attorney, Matthew Benniger, said in court, “He has accepted responsibility. He is cooperating.”
