A doctor charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death has pleaded guilty.
Mark Chavez was one of two doctors charged over the tragic death of the Friends actor. The 54-year-old doctor plead guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute ketamine at a federal court in Los Angeles at an 11am hearing on Wednesday (October 2).
He is one of five defendants who have been charged in connection with the actor’s death. Perry died aged 54 on 28 October 2023 from the “acute effects of ketamine” at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.
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Matthew had been taking ketamine six to eight times a day before he died, according to court documents. The actor was found dead by his live-in assistant Kenenth Iwamasa, who is also one of the five defendants.
(Image: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Chavez’s lawyer Matthew Binninger said after his client is “incredibly remorseful” after his first court appearance in August and is trying to do “everything in his power” to “right the wrong that happened here”.
The other four individuals charged in connection with Perry’s death were Eric Fleming, 54, another doctor named Salvador Plasencia, 42, who is known as ‘Dr P’, as well as Jasveen Sangha, 41, who has been branded in court documents as LA’s “Ketamine Queen”.
(Image: (Image: LinkedIn))
Chavez, who could face up to 10 years in prison, is the third person to have pleaded guilty in the case. Iwamasa plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.
He has also admitted repeatedly injecting Matthew with ketamine without medical training, including on the day he died. Fleming has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
He admitted to giving Iwamasa the ketamine that killed Matthew, who spent years battling addictions to drink and drugs and talked openly about his substance abuse.
Chavez exited the courtroom after entering his plea and is free on a $50,000 bond. He will be sentenced on April 2 next year.
According to court documents, Plasencia, another doctor, is said to have conspired with Chavez to supply Perry with large amounts of ketamine. He allegedly wrote in a text message “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “let’s find out”.
In his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to Plasencia. He said he had diverted it from his former ketamine clinic.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
