Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine before ‘Friends' star's death
Advertisement
Salvador Plasencia, one of five people charged in the death of Perry at age 54, entered the plea in US District Court in Los Angeles.
He faces up to 40 years in prison when sentenced, prosecutors said.
Ketamine is a short-acting anaesthetic with hallucinogenic properties. It is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and anxiety but is also abused by recreational users.
In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Plasencia admitted injecting Perry with ketamine at the actor's home and in a Santa Monica carpark in the weeks before his death on October 28, 2023, and that doing so was not for legitimate medical purposes.
Salvador Plasencia leaves federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday after pleading guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before his death. Photo: Reuters
Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic, obtained the ketamine from another doctor, Mark Chavez of San Diego.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
5 soldiers shot at US Army's Fort Stewart base in Georgia, shooter in custody
Five American soldiers were shot at the Fort Stewart base in the state of Georgia on Wednesday, and the suspected shooter is in custody, US Army officials said. The soldiers were treated on site and then transported to Winn Army Community Hospital for further treatment, Fort Stewart said in a social media post. 'There is no active threat to the community,' the post said. Parts of the base in southeast Georgia were locked down after the shooter was reported on the sprawling Army post, a spokesperson said. A post on a Fort Stewart social media account told all personnel in the locked down area to 'stay inside, close and lock all windows and doors'. Located about 64km (40 miles) southwest of Savannah, Fort Stewart is the largest Army post east of the Mississippi River. It is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the Army's 3rd Infantry Division and family members.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Canadian Maga fans living in US not safe from immigration clamp
Call it karma for Maga. In their high-profile cases, two 'Make America Great Again' Canadian supporters of Donald Trump who have lived legally – arguably – for years in the United States were respectively detained and denied re-entry by US immigration authorities. The family of Cynthia Olivera, a 45-year-old mother of three US-born children, voted for Trump, even though it was Joe Biden's policy that enabled her to work legally in the US while applying for permanent residency – also called a green card – after living in the country without legal status for decades. Olivera was 10 when her parents brought her to the US from Toronto without applying for immigration, according to The Guardian newspaper. She was detained in California while being interviewed about her green card application, and is now awaiting deportation. Her husband Francisco Olivera, a US citizen, was quoted as saying: 'We feel totally blindsided. I want my vote back.' A bit late for that! Trump's election promise to go after dangerous violent criminals who are living illegally in the US greatly appealed to the couple. Now, though, the vast majority of those being detained and deported – some to places such as South Sudan and El Salvador – are like Cynthia Olivera, who are neither violent, dangerous, nor criminal. Meanwhile, last month, Chris Landry, a 46-year-old Canadian citizen and long-time US green card holder, was denied re-entry after a trip to Canada. He was allowed back in this week after a court intervention.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
US charges 2 Chinese nationals for sending Nvidia AI chips to China
Two Chinese nationals were arrested this week on charges that they sent tens of millions of dollars worth of advanced AI chips made by Nvidia to China in violation of US export restrictions, according to authorities. Advertisement The defendants used a company based in El Monte, California, to export sensitive technology, including graphics processing units, used in artificial intelligence without obtaining the necessary government licences, the US Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint provided by the agency, the two individuals shipped Nvidia-designed chips including the company's H100 AI accelerators, which are the basis for computers used to create and run artificial intelligence software. Such chips require official approval for sales to certain countries. The accused were identified by authorities as Geng Chuan, 28, of Pasadena, and Yang Shiwei Yang, of El Monte. They have been charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act and could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the Justice Department. Lawyers for the Geng and Yang could not be immediately located for comment. Spokespeople for Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 03:34 Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praises China's AI progress following chip sales approval Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praises China's AI progress following chip sales approval Over the past several years, the US has steadily tightened restrictions on exports of semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to keep China from gaining ground in the race for AI dominance. The Trump administration is exploring ways to include enhanced location-tracking in AI chips to help with export control enforcement.
