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Friends star Matthew Perry's doctor could be jailed for up to 10 years today

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One of two doctors charged in connection with actor death faces up to ten years in prison when he is sentenced today In Los Angeles.

Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, admitted conspiring to distribute the surgical anaesthetic ketamine during a change-of-plea hearing in August. The 55-year-old was the third person to accept charges following the death of star Perry, who died on October 28 2023, from the “acute effects of ketamine”. Chavez is facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison after he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they pursue others, including the doctor he worked with to sell the drug to Perry.

Also working with the US attorney's office are Perry's assistant, who admitted helping him obtain and inject ketamine, and an acquaintance of the star, who admitted acting as a drug messenger and middleman.

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The three are helping prosecutors as they go after their main targets, Dr Salvador Plasencia, charged with illegally selling ketamine to Perry in the month before his death, and Jasveen Sangha, a woman who authorities say is a dealer who sold the actor the lethal dose of ketamine. Both have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Chavez admitted in his plea agreement that he obtained ketamine from his former clinic and from a wholesale distributor where he submitted a fraudulent prescription. Perry was found dead by his assistant. The medical examiner ruled ketamine was the primary cause of death.

The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common. Seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him, about a month before his death Perry found Plasencia, who in turn asked Chavez to obtain the drug for him.

"I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia texted Chavez. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine.

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After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500 (£3,480), Plasencia asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry's "go-to".

US attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges "the doctors preyed on Perry's history of addiction in the final months of his life last year to provide him with ketamine in amounts they knew were dangerous".

Plasencia is charged with seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two charges related to allegations he falsified records after Perry's death. Perry 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 NBC's megahit sitcom.

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