Doctor Salvador Plasencia, accused of fueling actor Matthew Perry's ketamine addiction, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison. The doctor is one of a group of five people being prosecuted for their role in the tragedy which led to the death of the 'Friends' star in October 2023.
Matthew Perry was found unconscious in the jacuzzi PHOTO: Shutterstock
Dr. Salvador Plasencia received a 30-month prison sentence after admitting to selling Matthew Perry about twenty vials of ketamine in the weeks before his death. The 54-year-old actor was found unconscious in the jacuzzi, following an overdose. Although Plasencia did not provide the vial that killed him, prosecutors consider him one of the main ringleaders of the network that exploited the star's addiction.
The doctor faced up to 40 years in prison and promised the court that he would voluntarily give up his right to practice medicine.
The reaction of the actor's family
In a statement filed with the case, the actor's mother, Suzanne Perry, and his stepfather, Keith Morrison, said the doctor failed to fulfill his professional responsibilities. “Matthew (Perry)'s recovery depended on you saying no“, the two wrote.
Plasencia's lawyers tried to explain his behavior: “He is not a bad man. He is someone who made serious mistakes in his medical decisions regarding the unauthorized use of ketamine.” they said in a statement. “The mistakes he made in the 13 days he treated Mr Perry will haunt him forever“, added lawyers Karen Goldstein and Debra White, according to News.ro.
A systematic “exploitation” of the actor's vulnerability
According to the indictment, Plasencia orchestrated “service” to the actor after he relapsed in his battle with addiction in the fall of 2023. In a message discovered by investigators, the doctor wrote to a provider: “I wonder how much this moron will payto”.
Prosecutors showed that the vials bought for about $12 were resold to the actor for $2,000. Sometimes the doctor would even go to Perry's home to personally administer the ketamine. During one of these visits, the actor's blood pressurei “grew up, causing paralysis”according to the investigation. However, the episode did not stop Plasencia from leaving several bottles behind, in the care of the star's personal assistant.
Matthew Perry was initially undergoing medically supervised treatment with ketamine for depression, but the stimulant effects of the substance gradually made him addicted.
The network around the actor and the following sentences
In addition to Plasencia, four other people are being prosecuted: a second doctor, Perry's personal assistant, a middleman and a trafficker. All have pleaded guilty and are due to be sentenced in the next two months.
Special attention is directed to the Jasveen Sangha, known as “queen of ketamine”who sold the vial responsible for the actor's death. Her sentencing is scheduled for next Wednesday.
A destiny marked by addiction and a death that moved the world
Matthew Perry's death sent shockwaves through Hollywood and among millions of “Friends” fans. The actor, who played Chandler Bing between 1994 and 2004, had spoken publicly about his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.
In the memoir published in 2022, Perry recounted that she went through 65 rehab sessions and spent more than nine million dollars trying to regain her health. He had also undergone several surgeries, including one on his colon, after complications from opioid use, confessing: “I should have been dead.”
The tragedy of 2023 brought back into question the vulnerability of the actor and the responsibility of those who, instead of helping him, took advantage of his weaknesses.
