Doctor jailed for role in Matthew Perry’s death makes emotional admission in front of his family
A doctor who has been jailed for two-and-a-half years behind bars for selling ketamine to Matthew Perry directly addressed the actor's family at a hearing yesterday (3 December).
Dr. Salvador Plasencia had previously admitted his guilt to four counts of distributing ketamine in a plea deal which saw three counts of drug distribution and two counts of falsifying records dropped.
He was not charged with selling the dose of ketamine that caused Perry's death, and is one of five people who have been charged in connection with the passing of the Friends star.
Perry had died from the 'acute effects of ketamine' at the age of 54 after being found 'unconscious in a stand-alone jacuzzi' at his home in Los Angeles on 28 October 2023 by his personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who had injected the actor with the ketamine that killed him.
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At yesterday's hearing, the doctor - one of five individuals charged in connection with Perry's death - turned to actor's family and addressed them directly, saying: "I am just so sorry."
The BBC reports that the family had asked for a lengthy sentence and accused him of being the 'most culpable' of the people charged in connection with Perry's death.
Matthew Perry's mother Suzanne Morrison spoke in court and spoke of text messages where Plasencia had called her son a 'moron' and speculated on how much he would pay for drugs.
"This is my boy. I knew how addicted he was year after year. But he survived it all only to be handed stuff and called a moron," Perry's mother told the doctor, telling him he took an oath and should have protected her son.
"There was nothing moronic about that man."
Perry's mother also told Plasencia 'this was a bad thing you did'.
According to the Independent, he told the court that he would have to explain his part in all of this to his son one day, saying: "I failed to protect a mother’s son. I failed Mr Perry, I failed his family and I failed myself."
In addition to his two-and-a-half year sentence Plasencia was also fined $5,600 (£4,000).
The maximum sentence he could have faced for the charged he pleaded guilty to was 40 years, but the judge said she would not base her decision on 'public opinion'.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett told Plasencia: "It does not feel like a caring doctor/patient relationship; it feels like selling drugs for profit.
"You took an oath to do no harm, but you did harm.
"You exploited Mr Perry’s addiction for your own profit, to the tune of $55,000. You and others helped Mr Perry to stay on the road to such an ending by helping to feed his ketamine addiction."
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Topics: Matthew Perry, Drugs, Crime, Celebrity, US News
Joe Harker