A little over two years after the death of Matthew Perry, a doctor who admitted to having distributed ketamine to the actor weeks before his death was sentenced this Wednesday to 30 months in prison.<\/p>\n
This is Salvador Plasencia, 44 years old, the first of the five defendants to be sentenced for his involvement in the case.<\/p>\n
Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic in Calabasas, pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distributing ketamine.<\/p>\n
In October 2023, Perry was found unconscious in the jacuzzi of his home in Los Angeles; an autopsy determined that he died from the acute effects of the anesthetic, of which he had received multiple irregular doses in previous days.<\/p>\n
The doctor faced up to 10 years in prison for each charge, but Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett imposed 30 months per count, to be served concurrently, in addition to two years of supervised release and a fine of $5,600.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Salvador Plasencia broke down in tears. \u201cI should have protected him. I failed him and his family. I must accept my responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Although the judge emphasized that Plasencia did not supply the fatal dose, she also pointed out that his actions led the actor down a path that “culminated in his death.”<\/p>\n
Upon concluding the hearing, the doctor was immediately referred to federal authorities. “He was a trafficker disguised in a white coat,” stated Assistant District Attorney Ian Yanniello.<\/p>\n
Matthew Perry’s family members also addressed the defendant. His mother, Suzanne Morrison, accompanied by journalist Keith Morrison, the actor’s stepfather, sent moving statements to the court demanding justice.<\/p>\n
The family argued that the doctor “exploited the actor’s vulnerability” for money and called him “one of the most guilty” among those involved.<\/p>\n
The prosecution had recommended a 36-month sentence, citing text messages in which Plasencia revealed his intention to profit from the actor.<\/p>\n
In a conversation with his mentor, Mark Chavez \u2014another doctor who also pleaded guilty\u2014 Plasencia wrote: \u201cI wonder how much this idiot will pay. Let’s find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The doctor’s defense requested a symbolic sentence of one day in prison and three years of supervised release. His lawyers argued that Plasencia had already lost his medical license, his clinic, and his career.<\/p>\n
They added that he was the subject of threats and media attacks, which forced his family to move out of the state.<\/p>\n
They also maintained that he treated Perry for only 13 days and that, although he made “the biggest mistake of his life,” he was not involved with the actor at the time of death nor did he supply the final dose.<\/p>\n
The court documents describe a pattern of risky behavior, as Plasencia administered ketamine at the actor’s house and in other locations, including a parking lot in Long Beach.<\/p>\n
On one occasion, he received $12,000 for a single visit. Even after witnessing Matthew Perry suffer a sudden increase in blood pressure after a dose, the doctor left more vials available to the actor’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who subsequently admitted to having administered the substance on the day of the death.<\/p>\n
The other defendants in the case are also awaiting sentencing. Iwamasa faces up to 15 years in prison; Chavez, up to 10 years.<\/p>\n
Two distributors \u2014 Erik Fleming and Jasveen \u201cThe Ketamine Queen\u201d Sangha \u2014 pleaded guilty to distributing the substance that ultimately. Sangha could face up to 65 years in prison, the most severe penalty in the case.<\/p>\n
For the family of the beloved *Friends* actor, the Plasencia sentence is just a step in a painful process. In a message addressed to the doctor, his father, John Perry, and his stepmother, Debbie, wrote: \u201cMatthew\u2019s recovery depended on you saying no. You ruined everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A little over two years after the death of Matthew Perry, a doctor who admitted to having distributed ketamine to the actor weeks before his death was sentenced this Wednesday to 30 months in prison. This is Salvador Plasencia, 44 years old, the first of the five defendants to be sentenced for his involvement in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-493420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-24mo","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","dum_api":{"author_name":"Arelis Suero","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-cropped-Diseno-sin-titulo-41-96x96.jpg","categories_name":["Uncategorized"],"featured_media_url":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}