One of the doctors charged over Matthew Perry‘s ketamine death appeared in court today after striking a plea deal with prosecutors.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors earlier this month and would be the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the Friends star’s fatal overdose last year.
Before Friday’s arraignment, his attorney Matthew Binninger told DailyMail.com he has been cooperative with investigators.
Dr. Mark Chavez ignored a scrum of press demanding answers about the Friend’s star’s death and addiction
Perry died after taking multiple doses of ketamine
‘He is going to accept responsibility for what he has done… he feels incredible remorse for what happened,’ Binninger said.
When asked if his client decided to cooperate right away because of the high-profile nature of the case, Binnninger told DailyMail.com: ‘The evidence is what it is. The fact that it was Matthew Perry doesn’t change the remorse that he feels.’
The defense attorney added: ‘Matthew Perry was larger than life and he was a human being that people cared about. But had it been a non-celebrity, I can assure you it would’ve played out the exact same way.’
Chavez closed his medical practice in San Diego as of two days ago, and he also has entered into a temporary suspension order of his medical license per the Medical Board of California, Binninger said.
The attorney added his client is in the process of surrendering his medical license, which could happen around the same time Chavez enters his guilty plea.
Chavez appeared nervous and rested his hands on top of the courtroom podium to hold his balance as he appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jean P. Rosenbluth on Friday.
Wearing a light blue button down shirt, gray pants, black shoes and his glasses, he waived his right to an indictment but signed a waiver of the information, which outlines his charges.
Chavez was allowed to remain free on a $50,000 bail after agreeing to no longer practice medicine. As part of his bail agreement, he had to surrender his passport and must remain in California unless he obtains permission to travel.
Chavez is also not allowed to sell, use or distribute drugs and marijuana and must agree to drug testing. He also must get approval if he obtains another job.
He has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, but it is unclear what kind of punishment he could receive for cooperating with federal authorities.
The maximum sentence for the charge he plans to plead guilty to is 10 years behind bars.
Chavez, 54, of San Diego, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors earlier this month and would be the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the Friends star’s fatal overdose last year
Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors earlier this month and would be the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the Friends star’s fatal overdose last year
Chavez and his attorney Matthew C. Binninger outside the federal courthouse on Friday
Also working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenny Iwamasa, who pled guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.
Federal prosecutors said Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine despite having no medical training.
Perry’s acquaintance, Erik Fleming, also admitted to acting as a drug messenger and middleman.
Chavez, Flemming and Iwamasa 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 ‘Ketamine Queen’ Jasveen Sangha, a woman who authorities say is a dealer who sold the actor the lethal dose of ketamine.
Prosecutors said Chavez, who used to operate a ketamine clinic, supplied Plasencia with the anesthetic drug to sell to Perry.
Plasencia allegedly sent a text messages to Chavez that said, ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay’ and ‘Lets find out’.
Investigators also said Fleming worked with Iwamasa to get Perry the ketamine that was supplied by Sangha. He is said to have texted Perry’s assistant: ‘I wouldn’t do it if there wasn’t the chance of me making some money.’
On the day of his death, Perry requested a dose of ketamine from Iwamasa at 8:30am, according to court documents filed by the prosecution.
Perry took a second dose around 12:45 pm while watching a movie, and, finally, requested a third dose around 1:30 pm so he could be high in the hot tub.
He instructed Iwamasa to prepare the tub and told his assistant to, ‘Shoot me up with a big one’. Iwamasa then stepped out to run errands.
At around 4 pm, Iwamasa returned to the house and found Perry facedown in the water.
Plasencia and Sangha have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.