Two doctors who were among five people charged in the ketamine overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry were barred from practicing medicine by a federal judge on Friday and later expressed remorse through their attorney.
Dr. Mark Chavez appeared in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for a brief hearing on a felony charge of conspiracy to illegally distribute ketamine, and was released on $50,000 bond.
Chavez previously signed an agreement with federal prosecutors under which he would plead guilty. Defense attorney Matt Binninger told reporters his client would do so at the next hearing scheduled for a few weeks. No plea was entered Friday.
Under bond conditions set by Magistrate Judge Jean Rosenbluth, Chavez also surrendered his passport and was ordered not to practice medicine. He agreed to surrender his medical license at a separate administrative hearing earlier this week, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“My client is accepting responsibility. He’s doing everything in his power to cooperate and help in this situation, and he’s incredibly remorseful,” Binninger said outside the courthouse.
The lawyer said Chavez’s regret was not due to Perry’s fame, but due to the fact that “the person who was trying to provide treatment died.”
The lawyer declined to provide any details about the case. Chavez stood beside his lawyer, looking sad but making no comment.
Another doctor charged in the case, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, has pleaded not guilty, as has co-defendant Jasveen Sangha, who authorities said was an illegal supplier of the drug and was known as the “Ketamine Queen.”
Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who admitted giving Perry the injections, and an alleged middleman who said he obtained ketamine from Sangha, have already pleaded guilty to the charges against them.
Authorities said Plasencia purchased ketamine from Chavez, and in a text message to Chavez discussing the amount he would charge Perry for the drug, he wrote: “I wonder how much this idiot is gonna pay.”
According to a December 2023 autopsy report, Perry died at age 54 in October 2023 from the “acute effects” of ketamine and other factors that caused him to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub.
The actor has publicly acknowledged substance abuse for decades, including during his years playing Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s television sitcom “Friends.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
