A doctor charged with giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the months leading up to the Friends star’s overdose death has agreed to plead guilty, authorities said Monday.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, federal prosecutors said in a statement. They said the plea carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and Plascencia is expected to enter the plea in the coming weeks.
Plasencia and a woman accused of being a ketamine dealer had been the primary targets of the prosecution, after three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their co-operation.
Plasencia had been scheduled to start trial in August.
Perry died on Oct. 28, 2023, at age 54.
The actor was found by his assistant face down in his hot tub, and paramedics who were called immediately declared him dead.
Ketamine was listed as the primary cause of death, which was ruled an accident with no foul play suspected, according to a medical examiner’s report.
