Doctor who sold ketamine to Matthew Perry gets 2.5 years in prison

A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Wednesday at an emotional hearing over the Friends stars overdose deathJudge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence that included two years of probation and a USD 5600 fine to 44yearold Dr Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los AngelesThe judge emphasized that Plasencia didnt provide the ketamine that killed Perry but told him You and others helped Mr Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addictionYou exploited Mr Perrys addiction for your own profit she said Plasencia was led from the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother cried in the audience He might have arranged a date to surrender but his lawyers said he was prepared to do it todayPerrys mother stepmother and two half sisters gave tearful victim impact statements before the sentencing My brothers death turned my world upside down sister Madeline Morrison said crying It punched a crater in my life His absence is everywhereShe talked about the broad effect of losing him The world mourns my brother He was everyones favorite friend Morrison said adding celebrities are not plastic dolls that you can take advantage of Theyre people Theyre human beings with familiesPerry struggled with addiction for years dating back to his time on Friends 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 for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBCs megahitPlasencia was the first person sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perrys death at age 54 in 2023The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry knowing he was a struggling addict Plasencia texted another doctor that Perry was a moron who could be exploited for money according to court filingsProsecutors had asked for three years in prison while the defense sought just a day in prison plus probation Perrys mother talked about the things he overcame in life and the strength he showedI used to think he couldnt die Suzanne Perry said as her husband Dateline journalist Keith Morrison stood at the podium with her You called him a moron she said addressing Plasencia There is nothing moronic about that man He was even a successful drug addictShe spoke eloquently and apologized for rambling before getting tearful at the end saying this was a bad thing you did Plasencia also spoke moments after Suzanne Perry breaking into tears as he imagined the day he would have to tell his now 2yearold son about the time I didnt protect another mothers son It hurts me so much I cant believe Im hereHe apologized directly to Perrys family I should have protected him he said Perry had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression But when his regular doctor wouldnt provide it in the amounts he wanted he turned to PlasenciaPlasencias lawyers tried to give a sympathetic portrait of him as a man who rose out of poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients His mother stood to speak after Perrys mother had spoken but the judge told her it wasnt appropriate for this hearingOutside the courthouse after Luz Plasencia told reporters Im sorry to the family of Matthew Perry Im feeling what they feel she said Speaking about her son she said I know his heartPlasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine He did not plead to causing Perrys death and the amount he distributed was relatively small given that he sold only to PerryThe judge said she largely agreed with a probation report suggesting the appropriate sentence was between eight and 14 months but she went well beyond thatI think the judge was very wellreasoned Keith Morrison told reporters At the start of the hearing she said that family impact statements may not be appropriate because legally there is no identifiable victim in this case The victim is the publicBut Plasencias lawyers said they didnt object to family members speaking The defense sought to cast Plasencia as a doctor treating a patient who was overcome by recklessness and greedIt was a perfect storm of bad decisionmaking everybody agrees attorney Karen Goldstein said adding absolutely his judgment was clouded by money Prosecutors said he was never acting as a doctorHe wasnt a negligent or reckless medical provider Assistant US Attorney Ian Yanniello said He was a drug dealer in a white coat Garnett generally agreed pushing back against the defense argument that Perry was Plasencias patient and that the doctor had diagnosed him in a phone call they had before the sales beganMr Plasencia kept pushing it the judge said He literally was offering to sell ketamine When another defense attorney asked Is your honour confused about how this all went down Garnett replied sternly No Im notThe other four defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months Garnett said she would seek to make sure all the sentences made sense in relation to one anotherThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever