Dr. Mark Chavez, a San Diego physician who admitted supplying ketamine tied to actor Matthew Perry’s death, will serve his punishment at home instead of in a federal prison. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett sentenced Chavez to eight months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, and 300 hours of community service. He is the second defendant sentenced in the wide-ranging federal investigation that followed Perry’s October 2023 death. Prosecutors say Chavez obtained controlled ketamine through fraudulent prescriptions and passed it to another physician who treated Perry, and Chavez told the court he has surrendered his medical license and cooperated with investigators.
According to The Associated Press, Chavez pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and admitted obtaining vials and lozenges under false pretenses. Prosecutors had pushed for a tougher sentence, but, as the AP reports, pointed to his cooperation and early acceptance of responsibility when ultimately recommending a shorter term. Court filings state that Chavez purchased ketamine supplies that were later provided to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who treated Perry at the actor’s Los Angeles home.
What Prosecutors Say Chavez Did
The Los Angeles Times reports that Chavez obtained 22 five-milliliter vials of ketamine and multiple ketamine lozenges from wholesale distributors using fraudulent documentation, then supplied them to Plasencia and others. Prosecutors told the court that this conduct amounted to a serious breach of medical trust. An assistant U.S. attorney said that, as doctors, their conduct was “egregious,” and emphasized that Chavez never personally treated Perry. Chavez’s attorneys countered that he has cooperated with authorities and taken remedial steps, including surrendering his medical license.
Other Sentences and Defendants
Earlier this month, another physician, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, was sentenced to about 30 months in federal prison after admitting he supplied ketamine directly to Perry, according to CBS Los Angeles. Local coverage describes emotional victim-impact statements from Perry’s family at Plasencia’s hearing and notes that several other defendants, including Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and a supplier identified in court filings as Jasveen Sangha, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing in the coming weeks and months. Prosecutors say text messages and transaction records uncovered during the probe reveal a profit-driven chain of suppliers and middlemen.
Autopsy Findings That Drove the Probe
The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner determined that Perry’s cause of death was the “acute effects of ketamine,” with drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine listed as contributing factors. In a December 2023 release, the medical examiner noted that the ketamine levels in Perry’s system were high enough to be consistent with anesthetic doses and could not have come from a supervised infusion he received weeks earlier. That conclusion helped steer federal investigators toward the question of how Perry obtained the drug in the days leading up to his death.
Legal Implications and Next Steps
Legal observers say the case underscores the thorny decisions judges face at sentencing, including how to weigh cooperation and remorse against the harm caused and how to keep punishments proportional across defendants who played different roles. The Associated Press reports that several plea deals are still being finalized and that judges will be looking closely at factors such as the level of cooperation, the defendants’ medical training and the fatal outcome of the conduct. Hearings scheduled for early 2026 are expected to determine whether the sentences line up across what federal agents describe as a network of suppliers who exploited a vulnerable patient.
For many in Los Angeles, Tuesday’s sentence is the latest chapter in a case that has put off-label ketamine treatment, oversight gaps in prescribing and the messy overlap of addiction and medicine under a harsh spotlight. Federal officials say the investigation is ongoing, with more courtroom drama likely in the months ahead.
