Matthew Perry's doctor has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for the actor's drug-related death.
Matthew Perry, the doctor who sold the actor drugs, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for the star's overdose death, The Guardian reports.
Addressing 44-year-old Salvador Plasencia, the judge noted that he did not provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but emphasized: "You and others helped Mr. Perry along the path to this end by continuing to fuel his ketamine addiction. You exploited Mr. Perry's addiction for your own benefit," the judge said.
Plasencia previously pleaded guilty to giving Perry ketamine in the month before his death.
Perry, 54, was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles mansion in late October 2023. A medical examiner determined that the primary cause of death was heavy ketamine use.
The "Friends" star's death followed years of struggle with addiction, which began when Perry was at the height of his fame thanks to his role as Chandler Bing. Initially, the actor legally took the surgical anesthetic ketamine to treat depression, but then decided to increase his dosage and turned to Plasencia. Plasencia later admitted to investigators that he had illegally sold the substance to Perry, knowing he was struggling with drug addiction.
During the investigation, correspondence from Plasencia surfaced in the media, in which he wrote to another doctor that Perry was an "idiot" who could be exploited for money.
Plasencia became the first of five defendants to plead guilty in connection with Perry's death. In August, Jaswin Sangha, known as the "ketamine queen," pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-related premises, three counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death. She will be sentenced later this month and faces up to 65 years in prison. The remaining three defendants will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months.
Perry has previously spoken openly about his long-standing struggle with addiction. In his memoir, "Friends, Loved Ones, and One Big, Terrible Thing," he wrote that his alcoholism began in his teens and that he became addicted to painkillers after a jet ski accident in 1997.
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