Disgraced California doctor Mark Chavez was sentenced Tuesday (December 16) to eight months of house arrest, three years of probation and 300 hours of community service for his role in the 2023 ketamine overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry.
Chavez, 55, pleaded guilty last year to participating in the distribution of ketamine after saying through his lawyer that he was “incredibly remorseful.”
The probation officers recommended a prison sentence of one year, while the federal prosecutor’s office only asked for six months of house arrest because Chavez “immediately cooperated with investigators.”
Statement in court and reaction of the judge
Asked if he planned to address the court before sentencing, Chavez walked to the podium and reflected on his decades-long career and the medical license he gave up as part of the prosecution. “I have had the wonderful opportunity to help many people, but I have also experienced and experienced many tragedies and deaths [Familienangehörigen] to announce that a loved one had died. So I take this very seriously,” Chavez told U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett. “I just want to say my heart goes out to the Perry family.”
Judge Garnett said she was concerned about the discrepancy between the house arrest sentence sought by prosecutors and the 30-month sentence she imposed two weeks ago on Chavez’s co-conspirator Salvador Plasencia, 44, the doctor who received at least 22 vials of liquid ketamine from Chavez and sold them to Perry in 2023 at a significant markup.
The judge said that of the five defendants accused of illegally supplying Perry with ketamine before the sitcom star was found floating face down in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023, Chavez’s behavior was most similar to Plasencia’s.
Ketamine supply, co-defendants and cooperation with investigators
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello defended his request for a lighter sentence, arguing that the evidence showed Chavez “reprimanded” Plasencia when he heard that Plasencia had injected Perry with ketamine in a car parked outside the Long Beach Aquarium. The prosecutor said Chavez also immediately “accepted responsibility and agreed to cooperate” while Plasencia “created forged documents” to cover his tracks.
“At the very least, you helped Mr. Perry continue his tragic path to the end by furthering his addiction,” the judge told Chavez on Tuesday. Still, she found that Chavez “distanced himself” from providing Plasencia with ketamine after Perry suffered an increase in blood pressure while receiving a ketamine injection from Plasencia on October 21, 2023.
“After Perry froze, you withdrew. You were less willing than Mr. Plasencia to move forward,” the judge said. “Mr Plasencia kept asking after that date if [Perry] want to buy more. They have withdrawn. I give you great credit for that.” The judge also found that the ketamine that was in Perry’s body at the time of the 54-year-old actor’s death did not come from doctors.
As part of his agreement with prosecutors, Chavez agreed to help investigators pursue cases against Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha, a woman dubbed the “Ketamine Queen.” When federal officials first released their 18-count indictment last year, they referred to Plasencia and Sangha, 42, as the “two main defendants.”
They said Chavez, along with Perry’s domestic workers Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, and Erik Fleming, 56, had already agreed to a plea deal. Fleming was described as a local man who acted as an agent for Sangha in their sales to Perry.
Death of Matthew Perry and statements from the family
Sangha finally struck a deal in August, saying she sold the ketamine that led to Perry’s death. She admitted to selling 25 vials of liquid ketamine to Perry on October 14, 2023, and an additional 25 vials 10 days later. On the day of Perry’s death, Iwamasa gave the actor three injections of ketamine supplied by Sangha, prosecutors said. An autopsy revealed that Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine.
Prosecutors said Chavez, a former licensed doctor from San Diego, supplied the ketamine, syringes and gloves that Plasencia used to inject Perry at his home during their first meeting on Sept. 30, 2023. Plasencia later texted Chavez that the visit was “like a bad movie.” Prosecutors said Chavez later submitted a fake order form, claiming he was still working for his former company, Dreamscape Ketamine, to ensure a steady supply of ketamine for sale to Perry.
Perry’s family was absent from Chavez’s sentencing on Tuesday after attending Plasencia’s sentencing and declaring emotional victim impact. Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, reached out to Plasencia directly on Dec. 3.
“A terrible void has been created in our family,” she said. “They have taken the oath that doctors take. It is old, it has worked for a long time, but it is abused every now and then. They have pushed it aside,” she said.
“I always thought he couldn’t die.”
Perry’s mother described her son as “one of the strongest men I have ever known” and recalled how he overcame serious health problems, including a ruptured intestinal tract. “I always thought he couldn’t die, that he wasn’t allowed to die. He would get back up from even the most critical situations,” she said. Perry relied on doctors to uphold their Hippocratic oath to do no harm, she said, and Plasencia violated that oath.
She then referred to the text message Plasencia sent to Chavez when he first met Perry. “I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay” and “Let’s find out,” the text messages dated September 30, 2024 read.
“That’s my boy. I knew how addicted he was, year after year. And he survived all of that only to be called an idiot? There was nothing idiotic about this man. He even knew how to be a successful drug addict,” she said. “I’m sorry I had to meet you under these circumstances, but what you did was wrong.”
Fleming is the next to be sentenced in this case. His hearing is scheduled for January 7th. Iwamasa will be sentenced on January 14, while Sangha will hear her verdict on February 25.