A California doctor charged in connection with the death of actor Matthew Perry has pleaded guilty to four counts of illegal distribution of the prescription anesthetic ketamine.
Salvador Plasencia entered the plea in a district court in Los Angeles.
He faces up to 40 years in prison when sentenced, prosecutors said.
Plasencia is one of five people charged over the death of the 54-year-old ‘Friends’ star from an overdose on 28 October 2023.
Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties.
It is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and anxiety but is also abused by recreational users.
In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Plasencia admitted injecting Mr Perry with ketamine at the actor’s home and in a Santa Monica car park in the weeks before his death and that doing so was not for legitimate medical purposes.
Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic, obtained the ketamine from another doctor, Mark Chavez of San Diego.
According to court documents, Plasencia texted Chavez about Mr Perry, writing: “I wonder how much this moron will pay”.
Chavez and two other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in the case. None has yet been sentenced.
A fifth defendant, Jasveen Sangha, whom authorities said was a drug dealer – known to customers as the “ketamine queen” – is accused of supplying the dose that killed Mr Perry.
She has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial next month.
Mr Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including during the years he starred as Chandler Bing in ‘Friends’, a hugely successful sitcom.
