A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in an emotional hearing on Wednesday (December 3, 2025).Friend“Star dies of overdose.
Judge Sherrilyn Peace Garnett sentenced Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, to two years of probation and a $5,600 fine in a federal court in Los Angeles.
The judge emphasized that Placenia did not give the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him, “You and others helped Mr. Perry reach such an end by continuing his addiction to ketamine.” “You took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction to your advantage,” she said.
Placencia was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother cried in the audience. He may have set a date to surrender, but his lawyers said he was ready to do so today.
Before the sentencing hearing, Perry’s mother, stepmother and two stepsisters gave tearful victim impact statements.
Sister Madeline Morrison cried, “My brother’s death turned my world upside down.” “He dug a hole in my life. His absence is everywhere.”
She talked about the widespread impact of losing him.
“The world mourns my brother. He was everyone’s favorite friend,” Ms. Morrison said, adding, “Celebrities are not plastic dolls you can take advantage of. They’re people. They’re human beings with families.”
Perry struggled with addiction for years, reminiscing about his time “Friend,” when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer on NBC’s megahit for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.
Placemnia was the first of five defendants convicted in connection with Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023 to be sentenced.
The doctor admitted that he took advantage of Perry, despite knowing that he was struggling with drug addiction. According to court filings, Placenia sent messages to another doctor saying Perry was an “idiot” who could be exploited for money.
Prosecutors had asked for three years in prison, while the defense had asked for just one day in jail and probation.
Perry’s mother talked about the things she accomplished in life and the strength she showed.
“I thought he couldn’t die,” Susan Perry said of her husband, “datelineJournalist Keith Morrison was standing on the stage with him.
“You called him a fool,” he said, addressing Placenia. “There’s nothing stupid about that guy. He was also a successful drug addict.”
She spoke eloquently and apologized for stuttering before finally crying and saying, “That’s a terrible thing you did!”
Placencia also spoke, moments after Suzanne Perry, beginning to cry as she imagined the day she would have to tell her now 2-year-old son “about the time I didn’t protect another mother’s son. It hurts me so much. I can’t believe I’m here.”
He apologized directly to Perry’s family. He said, “I should have protected her.”
Perry was taking the legal surgical anesthetic ketamine to treat depression. But when his regular doctor could not provide him with the medication he desired, he turned to Placenta.
Placencia’s lawyers tried to present a sympathetic picture of him as a man who rose from poverty to become a beloved doctor to his patients.
After Perry’s mother spoke, her mother stood up to speak, but the judge told her it was not appropriate for this hearing.
Outside the courthouse afterward, Luz Plasencia told reporters, “I’m sorry to Matthew Perry’s family.”
“I’m feeling what they’re feeling,” she said. Speaking about her son, she said, ‘I know his heart.’
Placenia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine. He did not plead to causing Perry’s death, and the amount he distributed was relatively small, considering he had only sold Perry.
The judge said she largely agreed with the probation report which suggested the appropriate sentence was between eight and 14 months, but she went much further than that.
“I think the judge had very good reasons,” Keith Morrison told reporters.
At the beginning of the hearing, he said that family impact statements could not be appropriate because legally, “There is no identifiable victim in this case. The victim is the public.”
But Placencia’s lawyers said they had no objection to family members speaking out.
The defense sought to portray Plasencia as a doctor treating a patient who was plagued by negligence and greed.
“It was a perfect storm of bad decision making, everyone agrees,” said attorney Karen Goldstein. “Absolutely his judgment was clouded by money,” he said.
Prosecutors said he was never working as a doctor.
“He was not a careless or negligent medical provider,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yaniello. “He was a drug dealer in a white coat.”
Garnett generally agreed, pushing against the defense’s argument that Perry was Plascenia’s patient, and that the doctor had diagnosed him in a phone call before the sale began.
“Mr. Plasencia kept pushing this forward,” the judge said. “He was literally offering to sell ketamine.”
When another defense attorney asked, “Is your Honor confused as to how this all happened?” Garnett replied sternly, “No, I’m not.”
The other four defendants who reached agreements to plead guilty will be sentenced at their hearings in the coming months. Garnett said she would like to make sure all the sentences make sense in relation to each other.
published – December 04, 2025 07:26 am IST