California physician Mark Chavez exits federal court in Los Angeles on Oct. 2, 2024. Chavez pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute the drug ketamine to the late actor Matthew Perry, who died of a ketamine overdose in October 2023. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
LOS ANGELES — One of two doctors charged in connection with the drug overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry pleaded guilty in a US court on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
Mark Chavez, 54, faces up to 10 years in prison after admitting to conspiring to distribute ketamine in the weeks before the actor was found dead in the pool of his Los Angeles home.
Appearing before US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in a Los Angeles court, the bespectacled Chavez answered a series of questions before entering his plea of “Guilty, your honor.”
Perry’s lengthy struggles with substance addiction were well-documented, but his death in October 2023 sent shockwaves through the global legions of “Friends” fans.
A criminal investigation was launched soon after an autopsy discovered the actor had high levels of ketamine – an anesthetic – in his system.
Two others caught in the dragnet – a live-in assistant and an acquaintance – have already pleaded guilty to their charges.
Another doctor – Salvador Plasencia – allegedly bought ketamine off Chavez and sold it to the desperate star at hugely inflated prices, musing “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Jasveen Sangha, the alleged “Ketamine Queen” who supplied drugs to high-end clients and celebrities, is charged with selling Perry the dose that killed him.
Both Plasencia and Sangha face one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, as well as a raft of other charges, which they have denied.
Their trials have been set for March, and both face lengthy prison terms if found guilty.
READ: What to know about the 5 people charged in Matthew Perry’s death
Chavez admitted in his plea agreement to selling ketamine to Plasencia, including doses that he had diverted from his former ketamine clinic.
He was released on $50,000 bail on Wednesday and ordered not to practice medicine. He is expected to be sentenced in April.
Perry played Chandler Bing on the hit TV sitcom from 1994 to 2004 and talked openly of his decades-long battles with addiction.
He had been taking ketamine, a controlled drug, as part of supervised therapy.
Doctors and veterinarians use ketamine as an anesthetic, and researchers have explored its use as a treatment for depression.
Underground users take it for its hallucinogenic effects, though it can be addictive and dangerous for people with underlying health problems.
“Friends,” which followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, drew a massive global following and made megastars of previously unknown actors.
Perry’s role as the sarcastic man-child Chandler brought him fabulous wealth, but hid a dark struggle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.
In 2018, he suffered a drug-related burst colon and underwent multiple surgeries.
In his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry described going through detox dozens of times.
“I have mostly been sober since 2001,” he wrote, “save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps.”