Dr. Salvador Plasencia is the first of five defendants who have pleaded guilty in the case to be sentenced.
A doctor who admitted illegally supplying ketamine to Matthew Perry before the actor’s fatal overdose has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence Wednesday to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles. He also received two years of supervised release. Plasencia is the first of five defendants who have pleaded guilty in the case to be sentenced.
Plasencia acknowledged distributing large quantities of ketamine to Perry in the weeks before the 54-year-old actor’s death, despite knowing he was a struggling addict. Court documents revealed Plasencia had referred to Perry as a “moron” who could be taken advantage of financially. Prosecutors did not accuse him of supplying the lethal dose.
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors said Plasencia “exploited Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit.”
Plasencia’s lawyers argued that he has already paid a steep price, losing his licence, his practice and his livelihood. They said he and his family moved from California to Arizona after receiving threats. The doctor expressed remorse, saying he hoped his young son could one day be proud of him.
Perry’s mother Suzanne Perry and stepfather Keith Morrison were present in court and were expected to speak.
Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four ketamine distribution charges under a deal that dropped five others, though the agreement included no guarantee on prison time. The remaining four defendants will be sentenced at later hearings.
Perry’s death marked the tragic end of a decades-long addiction battle that began during his meteoric rise on Friends, where he played Chandler Bing.
