Former doctor sentenced in Matthew Perry ketamine case

Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to illegally selling Matthew Perry large quantities of ketamine in the weeks leading up to the beloved Friends star’s fatal overdose.

(NBC)- In an emotional day in a Los Angeles courtroom, prosecutors branded former physician Salvador Plasencia a “drug dealer in a white coat” before a judge sentenced him to two and a half years in prison. Plasencia pleaded guilty to illegally selling Matthew Perry large quantities of ketamine in the weeks leading up to the beloved Friends star’s fatal overdose.

Perry’s mother addressed Plasencia directly, telling him he violated the oath he took as a doctor.
“It’s a bad thing you did,” she said, asking him to look at her as a mother. He nodded in response.

Plasencia also spoke, acknowledging his role in Perry’s decline.
“I failed him, failed his family, failed the community,” he said, later turning toward the family to say, “I am just so sorry.”

During sentencing, the judge referenced previously released text messages between Plasencia and another doctor, in which he wrote, “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” followed by, “Let’s find out.”

In a letter to the court, Perry’s mother and stepfather — Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison — condemned those who exploited the actor, calling them “greedy jackals” and labeling Plasencia “the most culpable of all.”

Perry had spoken openly about his battle with addiction, and his family previously reflected on that struggle with NBC News. Four others charged in the case — including another doctor and a woman known as the “ketamine queen” — have also accepted plea deals and will be sentenced in the coming months.