Dr. Mark Chavez, one of the medical professionals who accused of helping supply late ‘Friends‘ actor Matthew Perry with ketamine, pleads guilty to the drug charge in the actor’s death.
RELATED: Matthew Perry Dies At 54 After Apparent Drowning
As we previously shared, Matthew Perry sadly passed away in October 2023 at 54. At the time of his death, it appeared he passed from an apparent drowning. Nearly two months later, a medical examiner report revealed that Perry passed away from acute effects of the anesthetic drug ketamine.
The actor, who had struggled with past drug abuse, was clean for 19 months and his death was ruled accidental. In a statement by the Los Angeles County Department of the Medical Examiner, it was revealed that the actor drowned in the heated end of his pool, a fact that was listed as a secondary factor in his death, as reported by the Associated Post.
Sources close to the actor told investigators that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy as an experimental treatment to manage anxiety and depression. However, the medical examiner said that the levels of the drug in his system were within the range of general anesthesia during surgery.
RELATED: Medical Examiner Report Reveals Matthew Perry Passed Away From Acute Effects Of Ketamine
It was later revealed that although he legally obtained the ketamine to treat his depression, reportedly paying about $55,000 to doctors, he allegedly began abusing the drug in September 2023.
Officials added that his last treatment was 1 1/2 weeks before his death. Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, was the person who found him on October 28. He was also the same person who injected the actor with large quantities of ketamine, averaging 6-8 shots per day.
Matthew Perry’s autopsy report also revealed that coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid usage, had also contributed to his death. However, due to the amount of ketamine in Perry’s system, it would’ve been enough to make the actor lose consciousness, along with his posture and the ability to stay above the water.
In August 2024, nearly 10 months after the tragic death of ‘Friends‘ actor Matthew Perry, law enforcement officials made multiple arrests in connection with his fatal overdose. Perry’s former assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, along with Erik Fleming, Dr. Mark Chavez, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, and Jasveen Sangha, who is known as “The Ketamine Queen,” were all charged in connection with the actor’s ketamine death.
Since the August 2024 arrests in Matthew Perry’s death, Dr. Mark Chavez, one of the doctors charged with helping to supply the ‘Friends‘ actor with ketamine, has taken responsibility and pleaded guilty to the drug charge against him. On Wednesday (October 2), Dr. Chavez appeared before a judge in federal court in Los Angeles and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Before pleading guilty to Matthew Perry’s ketamine death, Dr. Mark Chavez copped a plea with prosecutors. Kenneth Iwamasa and Erik Fleming also cut deals in the case as Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha, aka “The Ketamine Queen,” take their cases to trial and plead not guilty.
RELATED: Matthew Perry’s Assistant Reportedly Gave Actor Fatal Ketamine Injection, Law Enforcement Says
Dr. Chavez now faces up to 10 years in prison, but his sentencing likely won’t happen until April 2025. Until then, he will remain free on a $50,000 bond. He has also surrendered his passport and agreed not to work as a doctor, surrendering his medical license as well.
Additionally, federal officials accused Dr. Chavez of receiving an email from one of the other physicians charged in Matthew Perry’s death, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who reportedly wrote, “I wonder how much this moron will pay [for the ketamine].”
RELATED: Assistant Found Matthew Perry Unconscious Repeatedly Before Fatal Overdose
Speaking on Dr. Mark Chavez pleading guilty to the drug charge against him in Matthew Perry’s ketamine death, his lawyer Matthew Binninger told TMZ that his client accepted responsibility for his actions by cooperating with the government, entering a guilty, and surrendering his passport and medical license.
Binninger said, “The factual basis from the plea agreement will be used as the basis for the medical board to issue a complaint against him, requesting the surrender of his license. We will agree with that conclusion, and at that point, his license will be revoked. I cannot give you an exact timeline about when that will happen because it is up to the medical board, but the wheels are in motion, and now that the guilty plea has been entered it should happen sooner than later.”
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