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Doctor pleads guilty in Matthew Perry ketamine overdose case
Matthew Perry in 2009.
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Matt Sayles
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AP
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Topline:
A Santa Monica doctor charged in the drug-overdose death of Friends actor Matthew Perry pleaded guilty on Wednesday to four felony charges for distributing ketamine.
How did we get here? Dr. Salvador Plasencia filed the agreement in June that he planned to plead guilty to the charges, admitting that he knowingly distributed ketamine and acted without medical reasoning.
What are the accusations? Plasencia is accused of selling Perry four vials of liquid ketamine and an open box of ketamine lozenges. Plasencia is also accused of traveling to Perry’s residence, injecting him with the drug and leaving at least one vial with Perry’s personal assistant. He faces up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.
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What Plasenica’s legal team said: Karen Goldstein, an attorney for Plasencia, said in a statement that he plans to voluntarily surrender his medical license. “Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry,” the statement added. “He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution.”
Background: Perry died Oct. 28, 2023, in his Los Angeles home. The L.A. County medical examiner determined the cause was “acute effects of ketamine.”
What's next: Plascencia is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 3., according to his legal team.
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