Doctor in case of Matthew Perry’s death expresses remorse while out on bond

Last Updated on October 1, 2024

Dr. Mark Chavez, who sold ketamine to another doctor tied to the death of Matthew Perry, has been released on a $500,000 bond just two weeks after being arrested. He, too, is expressing remorse over the death, which occurred in October of last year.

Outside of a Los Angeles courthouse this week, a lawyer defending Chavez stated that the former doctor – who has since been stripped of his license – is “incredibly remorseful”, while a defense attorney added that this sentiment was not solely because of the fame that Matthew Perry had but also because it happened to any patient of his. That attorney also added, “He is trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here. He didn’t accept responsibility today, but only because it wasn’t on the calendar.” Chavez was expected to plead guilty in the death of Matthew Perry on Friday, August 30th. This has now been pushed back to the fall.

Chavez is just one in a long line of people that were arrested earlier this month. The others involved are: Jasveen Sangha, who has been dubbed “The Ketamine Queen”, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, Eric Fleming (who plead guilty to distributing the ketamine), and Kenneth Iwamasa, who served as Matthew Perry’s live-in assistant at the time of his death. At the time, a key U.S. attorney declaring these individuals “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves.” More arrests are expected to take place, according to Deadline.

While we will have to wait to see how this all shakes out, there does seem to be some damning evidence working against at least some of those tied directly to Matthew Perry’s death, including text messages that indicated that they wanted to charge the actor as much as they could for the ketamine, taking full advantage of both his wealth and addictions.

Matthew Perry had been focusing on staying sober for quite some time, with seldom media appearances over the past few years. But many will find it fitting that his last credit was on the Friends reunion, as that sitcom remained his trademark work for his entire career.