Doctor charged in Matthew Perry’s death sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison
A former California physician who confessed to illegally supplying ketamine to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry in the weeks before the star’s fatal overdose was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison and immediately taken into custody. The Department of Justice (DOJ) shared that United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also ordered two years of supervised release and fined the doctor $5,600.
Salvador Plasencia, 44, known in court filings as “Dr. P,” pleaded guilty on July 23 to four counts of distribution of ketamine. Prosecutors say Plasencia repeatedly sold vials and lozenges of the anesthetic — an off-label treatment for depression that carries risks including sedation and abuse — to Perry and to Perry’s assistant between Sept. 30 and Oct. 12, 2023. Plasencia surrendered his California medical license in September 2025 as part of the fallout.
Related, see:
- The world bids goodbye to beloved ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry, gone at 54
- Five people, including two doctors, charged with Matthew Perry’s fatal drug overdose
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Perry, 54, was found unresponsive and floating face-down in a jacuzzi at his LA home on Oct. 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined he died from the “acute effects of ketamine,” with contributing factors including drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, which is a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. ~ CBS News
The government argued the doctor exploited Perry’s well-documented addiction and that Plasencia “sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” citing text messages in which Plasencia speculated about how much the actor would pay. While prosecutors acknowledged that Plasencia did not provide the specific dose that proved fatal on October 28, 2023, they said his conduct helped feed a destructive pattern that contributed to Perry’s death.
At the sentencing hearing, family members delivered emotional victim-impact statements describing their loss and urging the judge to hold Plasencia accountable. According to The Los Angeles Times, the judge told the doctor that, while he did not give the fatal dose, his actions helped put Perry “on the road to such an ending.” Plasencia addressed the court, saying, “I should have protected him,” and expressing remorse.
Federal filings shared by the DOJ say Plasencia distributed roughly 20 vials and multiple lozenges of ketamine, and charged large sums for the drug — reportedly collecting tens of thousands of dollars during the roughly two-week period he treated Perry. Investigators have described a chain of suppliers and intermediaries; five people ultimately pleaded guilty in connection with the case, including other doctors, a supplier nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen,” and Perry’s personal assistant, who has admitted to administering the injections on the day Perry died.
The sentencing marks the first prison term handed down in the federal prosecution tied to Perry’s death. Additional defendants in the case face upcoming sentencing dates and still-possible lengthy prison terms.
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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