Doctor Faces Up To 10 Years In Prison For Role In Matthew Perry's Fatal Ketamine Overdose
One of the doctors charged in Matthew Perry's overdose death faces up to a decade in prison after agreeing to plead guilty.
On Friday, San Diego-based Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, appeared in Los Angeles federal court to be arraigned on one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine in connection with Perry's fatal ketamine overdose at age 54 in October 2023, the Associated Press reported.
During the arraignment, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jean Rosenbluth allowed the plea agreement Chavez signed with prosecutors to move forward.
Prosecutors announced earlier this month that the doctor agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic.
In his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to the other physician charged in the case, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who then allegedly sold the drug to Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
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Chavez did not enter his guilty plea during Friday's arraignment but will do so at a later date.
Chavez could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
He could also be fined half a million dollars during his sentencing.
Judge Rosenbluth allowed Chavez to post a $50,000 bond and be released once he surrendered his passport and medical license, according to AP.
Chavez's lawyer Matthew Binninger told reporters that his client was "incredibly remorseful, not just because it happened to Matthew Perry, but because it happened to a patient."
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The attorney added that Chavez, who is cooperating with prosecutors, was "trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here."
"He didn't accept responsibility today, but only because it wasn't on the calendar," Binninger said of his client.
Chavez is one of five people charged in Perry's accidental overdose death.
Iwamasa, who injected the "Friends" actor with ketamine multiple times on the day of his death, and Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry's who admitted to acting as a drug messenger and middleman, both pleaded guilty to their charges
Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha, an alleged drug dealer known as the "ketamine queen," were arrested but have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges.
