Matthew Perry, known for his remarkable role in 'Friends' died last year of a ketamine overdose, a powerful surgical anesthetic.
Mark Chavez, A San Diego doctor one of the 2 doctors charged for Matthew Perry's death appeared at the Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles and pleaded guilty before the judge for one drug charge of illegally distributing Ketamine.
A judge will now set a date to hear his plea.
According to the report in AP, Judge Jean Rosenbluth, a U.S. Magistrate, allowed him to be free on a $50,000 bond along with several conditions one of them being the suspension of his medical license. He had to surrender his passport and medical license.
His lawyer, Matthew Binninger stated,
My client is accepting responsibility. He’s doing everything in his power to cooperate, to help in this situation, and he’s incredibly remorseful.Matthew Binninger
According to his lawyer, Chavez's regret was not because Perry was a celebrity, but because someone who was battling addiction and wanted to seek treatment died.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha (known as the ketamine queen) who were the other physicians charged did not plead guilty.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's live-in assistant had admitted to injecting him and an alleged middle-man claimed to have obtained the ketamine from Sangha. Both of them pleaded guilty.
Plasencia texted Chavez, "I wonder how much this moron will pay". They met each other in Costa Mesa and exchanged at least four vials of Ketamine. They sold the drugs to Perry for $4,500 and wanted to keep making money off of him.
Plasencia is charged with seven counts of ketamine distribution and two charges of falsifying the records after Perry's death. Sangha and Plasencia has separate trial dates for October which could be delayed for next year.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Gayatri Prakasan/MSM)