A doctor who admitted to distributing ketamine to Matthew Perry weeks before he died was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on Wednesday — the first to be sentenced among the five people convicted in connection with the Friends actor’s 2023 overdose death.
Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine. He is one of two doctors convicted of providing Perry with ketamine before the actor died in October 2023 at the age of 54. The actor was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home, police said. An autopsy report revealed he died from the acute effects of ketamine.
Plasencia, 44, who operated an urgent care clinic in Calabasas, had been set to go on trial in August in the case prior to reaching a plea agreement. He faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count, prosecutors said.
The former doctor sobbed as he addressed the court before his sentencing.
“I should have protected him,” Plasencia said, saying he failed Perry and the star’s family.
“I have to accept responsibility,” he said.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett sentenced him to 30 months in federal prison for each count, to run concurrently, as well as two years of supervised release. She also fined him $5,600.
The judge highlighted that Plasencia did not give the fatal dose of ketamine, but agreed his actions led to Perry going down a road toward his ultimate demise.
Plasencia was immediately remanded to federal custody.
For more on the sentencing, check out ABCNews.com.
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