One of two doctors charged in the drug overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry pleaded guilty in a US court on Wednesday.
Mark Chavez, 54, faces up to 10 years in prison after admitting to conspiring to distribute ketamine just weeks before the actor was found dead in the pool of his Los Angeles home.
Appearing before US District Judge Sharleen Peace Garnett in a Los Angeles courtroom, the bespectacled Chavez answered a series of questions before entering his plea of ”Guilty, Your Honor.”
Perry’s long struggle with drug addiction was well-documented, but her death in October 2023 shocked global legions of “Friends” fans.
A criminal investigation was launched immediately after the autopsy revealed that the actor had high levels of ketamine – an anesthetic – in his system.
Two others caught in the trap – a live-in assistant and an acquaintance – have already confessed to the charges.
Another doctor – Salvador Plasencia – allegedly purchased ketamine from Chávez and sold it at wildly inflated prices to the desperate star, thinking “I wonder how much this fool will pay.”
Jasveen Sangha, the so-called “Ketamine Queen” who supplied drugs to high-end clients and celebrities, is accused of selling Perry the dose that killed him.
Both Placenia and Sangha are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, as well as several other charges, which they have denied.
Their trials are scheduled for March, and both face lengthy prison sentences if found guilty.
Chávez admitted in his plea agreement to selling ketamine to Placenia, including doses he received from his former ketamine clinic.
He was released Wednesday on $50,000 bail and ordered not to practice medicine. He is expected to be sentenced in April.
Perry played Chandler Bing on the hit TV sitcom from 1994 to 2004 and has spoken openly about his decades-long battle with addiction.
He was taking ketamine, a controlled drug, as part of supervised therapy.
Doctors and veterinarians use ketamine as an anesthetic, and researchers have explored its use as a treatment for depression.
Underground users take it for its hallucinogenic effects, although it can be addictive and dangerous for people with underlying health problems.
“Friends,” which followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, garnered a massive global following and turned previously unknown actors into megastars.
The role of sarcastic man-child Chandler brought Perry fabulous wealth, but hid a deep struggle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.
In 2018, he suffered a drug-related colon rupture and underwent multiple surgeries.
In her 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry described going through detox dozens of times.
“I’ve been mostly sober since 2001,” he wrote, “except for about sixty or seventy minor accidents.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
