Doctor to be sentenced for selling Matthew Perry ketamine before Friends star's overdose death
The attorneys say the doctor selling drugs to Mr. Perry is “the biggest mistake of his life”.
A makeshift memorial for actor Matthew Perry, the wise-cracking co-star of the 1990s hit television sitcom "Friends," who was found dead at his Los Angeles home October 28, is pictured on Bedford Street in Manhattan in New York City, US, Oct 30, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar)
LOS ANGELES: A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the Friends star's overdose death is set to be the first of five people sentenced in the case on Wednesday (Dec 3).
Perry's family and possibly others affected by his death will have a chance to make a statement in federal court in Los Angeles before the sentencing of Dr Salvador Plasencia.
Prosecutors are asking US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett to sentence Plasencia, 44, to three years in prison after a plea agreement where the doctor admitted to illegally selling Perry large amounts of ketamine. He was not accused of selling the actor the dose that investigators say killed him on Oct 28, 2023.
Perry had been taking the surgical anaesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn't provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling to Perry and knowing he was a struggling addict. He texted another doctor that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.
“Rather than do what was best for Mr Perry - someone who had struggled with addiction for most of his life - defendant sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” the prosecution's sentencing memo said.
Plasencia’s lawyers tried to give a sympathetic portrait of him in their memo, as a man who rose out of poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients, some of whom provided testimonials about him for the court.
The attorneys called his selling to Perry “reckless” and “the biggest mistake of his life”.
“Remorse cannot begin to capture the pain, regret and shame that Mr. Plasencia feels for the tragedy that unfolded and that he failed to prevent,” the memo said.
But, the lawyers wrote, “a sentence of imprisonment is neither necessary nor warranted. He has already lost his medical license, his clinic, and his career. He has also been viciously attacked in the media and threatened by strangers to the point where his family has moved out of state for their safety”.
Plasencia's lawyers said he has moved to Arizona with his wife and 2-year-old son, for whom he is a loving caretaker.
“I want him to be proud of his father,” Plasencia said in a video he and his lawyers made for the judge. “I made mistakes, but I want him to know that I tried to make better choices after my mistakes.”
Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine. Prosecutors agreed to drop five different counts. The agreement came with no sentencing guarantees, and legally Garnett can give him up to 40 years.
Perry's mother Suzanne Perry and his stepfather, journalist Keith Morrison, attended the hearing on Wednesday. They could be among those given a chance to speak before Plasencia is sentenced.
The other four defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months.
Perry died at age 54 after struggling with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.
