ONE of the two doctors charged in connection with Friends star Matthew Perry’s death has pleaded guilty and is facing up to 10 years in prison.
Disgraced Dr. Mark Chavez formally entered his plea in a Los Angeles federal courtroom on Wednesday, months after signing an agreement with prosecutors where he agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
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Chavez, who was one of five people arrested in connection with Perry’s fatal overdose in October 2023, has been free on bond after an initial court appearance on August 29, where a judge ordered him to turn over his passport and surrender his medical license, among other conditions.
His attorney, Matthew Binninger, said in August that Chavez was “incredibly remorseful” and was “trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here.”
The lawyer called Perry’s death “a shame.”
“It doesn’t matter that he was a famous celebrity, and I know that he was incredibly universally loved by all. It’s a shame at what happened,” Binninger said.
READ MORE ON MATTHEW PERRY
The actor, known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom Friends, was open about his decades-long struggle with substance abuse in the years before his death.
Perry died at 54 after “acute effects” of ketamine caused him to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub, an autopsy report revealed in December 2023.
Chavez is the third person to sign a plea deal and plead guilty in connection to Perry’s death.
PHONY PRESCRIPTION & SICK TEXTS
He admitted to selling ketamine to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, another doctor charged in connection with Perry’s death, including ketamine that he obtained illegally from his former clinic.
The dirty doctor also confessed to getting ketamine by using a phony prescription with the name of a former patient without that patient’s consent.
Authorities said Plasencia bought ketamine from Chavez and discussed how much they should charge Perry for the drug in disturbing texts.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia allegedly wrote to Chavez.
Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, pleaded guilty and admitted to injecting Perry with the drug.
Court documents revealed that Plasencia administered Ketamine to the actor and supplied the vials that Iwamasa gave him.
Middleman Erik Fleming also pleaded guilty, admitting that he got the drug from “ketamine queen” supplier Jasveen Sangha and distributed it to Iwamasa.
Plasencia and Sangha have both pleaded not guilty and go on trial in March.
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