Doctor pleads guilty over overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry

Mark Chavez admits to obtaining ketamine with a fraudulent prescription for Perry, who died aged 54 in October 2023.

One of two California doctors who were among the five people charged in the overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry has pleaded guilty to illegally distributing the drug ketamine.

Mark Chavez of San Diego entered the plea during an appearance in US District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday. He could face up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing, which was scheduled for April.

Another physician charged in the case, Salvador Plasencia, has pleaded not guilty, as has co-defendant Jasveen Sangha, who authorities said was an illicit supplier of the drug and was known as the “ketamine queen”. The pair are scheduled to go on trial in March.

Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who admitted to injecting Perry with the drug, and the alleged middleman who said he obtained ketamine from Sangha, have already pleaded guilty to charges they faced.

Authorities said Plasencia purchased ketamine from Chavez, and in text messages to Chavez discussing the amount to charge Perry for the drug wrote: “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”