A California doctor was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on Wednesday for illegally supplying "Friends" sitcom star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor's drug overdose death in 2023.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, pleaded guilty in federal court in July to four felony counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic.
He could have faced up to 40 years in prison for the crime.
00:00A California doctor was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Wednesday for illegally supplying Friends sitcom star Matthew Perry with ketamine.
00:11The powerful sedative caused the actor's drug overdose death in October 2023.
00:17Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic outside Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in federal court in July to four felony counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic.
00:28He could have faced up to 40 years in prison had he been convicted at trial.
00:33He is the first of five people to be sentenced in connection with Perry's death, all of whom pleaded guilty.
00:39Perry's stepfather, Keith Morrison, who left the courthouse alongside the actor's mother, Suzanne Perry, called the case a tragic story.
00:47You've been through so much.
00:49Look, it's a tragic story and, you know, sometimes apparently nice guys do bad things and the legal system has to take account.
00:57Was there any relief at all, sir?
01:02The mother of Dr. Plasencia expressed relief and remorse outside of the courthouse after the sentencing.
01:08It couldn't be worse, but thank you, God.
01:12Thank you, Josh.
01:13Thank you, everybody.
01:14And I'm sorry, all the family, or Matthew Perry.
01:18I'm sorry.
01:19And my son, he says sorry.
01:23I know his heart.
01:26We all made mistakes.
01:27Where did we stay?
01:28How did everything start?
01:30I don't know.
01:32But I love my son.
01:33Perry was found by his live-in assistant floating face down and lifeless in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home.
01:40An autopsy concluded Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine and other factors that caused him to lose consciousness and drown.
01:49Toxicology tests found ketamine in Perry's body at high levels within a range typically associated with general anesthesia used in monitored surgical care.
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