A man was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and a $5,600 fine for his role in the overdose death of 'Friends' star Matthew Perry. The judge emphasized that the defendant contributed to Perry's ketamine addiction.
was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Wednesday at an emotional hearing over the “Friends” star’s overdose death. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence that included two years of probation and a $5,600 fine to 44-year-oldThe judge emphasized that Plasencia didn’t provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him, “You and others helped Mr.
Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.”Plasencia was led from the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother cried in the audience. He might have arranged a date to surrender, but his lawyers said he was prepared to do it today.Perry’s mother, stepmother and two half sisters gave tearful victim impact statements before the sentencing. “My brother’s death turned my world upside down,” sister Madeline Morrison said, crying. “It punched a crater in my life. His absence is everywhere.”“The world mourns my brother. He was everyone’s favorite friend,” Morrison said, adding “celebrities are not plastic dolls that you can take advantage of. They’re people. They’re human beings with families.”for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. HePlasencia was the first person sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023. The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted another doctor that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings. Prosecutors had asked for three years in prison, while the defense sought just a day in prison plus probation.“I used to think he couldn’t die,” Suzanne Perry said as her husband, “Dateline” journalist Keith Morrison, stood at the podium with her. “You called him a ‘moron,’” she said, addressing Plasencia. “There is nothing moronic about that man. He was even a successful drug addict.” She spoke eloquently and apologized for rambling before getting tearful at the end, saying, “this was a bad thing you did!”Plasencia also spoke, moments after Suzanne Perry, breaking into tears as he imagined the day he would have to tell his now 2-year-old son “about the time I didn’t protect another mother’s son. It hurts me so much. I can’t believe I’m here.”Perry had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn’t provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia. Plasencia’s lawyers tried to give a sympathetic portrait of him as a man who rose out of poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients. His mother stood to speak after Perry’s mother had spoken, but the judge told her it wasn’t appropriate for this hearing. Outside the courthouse after, Luz Plasencia told reporters, “I’m sorry to the family of Matthew Perry.”Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distribution of ketamine. He did not plead to causing Perry’s death, and the amount he distributed was relatively small given that he sold only to Perry. The judge said she largely agreed with a probation report suggesting the appropriate sentence was between eight and 14 months, but she went well beyond that.At the start of the hearing, she said that family impact statements may not be appropriate because legally, “there is no identifiable victim in this case. The victim is the public.”The defense sought to cast Plasencia as a doctor treating a patient who was overcome by recklessness and greed. “It was a perfect storm of bad decision-making, everybody agrees,” attorney Karen Goldstein said, adding “absolutely his judgment was clouded by money.”“He wasn’t a negligent or reckless medical provider,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello said. “He was a drug dealer in a white coat.” Garnett generally agreed, pushing back against the defense argument that Perry was Plasencia’s patient, and that the doctor had diagnosed him in a phone call they had before the sales began.When another defense attorney, asked “Is your honor confused about how this all went down?” Garnett replied, sternly, “No I’m not.” The other four defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months. Garnett said she would seek to make sure all the sentences made sense in relation to one another.St. Paul Mayor: Fraud Charges Show Federal Agents 'Not Adding Value'Bondi: 6 Pipe Bomber Evidence 'Collecting Dust' at Biden's FBI for 4 YearsAG Bondi: Evidence Leading to J6 Pipe Bomber Arrest ‘Collecting Dust’ at Biden’s FBI for 4 YearsBreitbart Business Digest: How Deeply Divided Is the Fed?Presidents of Rwanda, DRC Thank Trump for Brokering Historic Peace DealFBI-Louisiana State Police Team Up to Protect Border Patrol/ICE During Operation Catahoula Crunch
Matthew Perry Overdose Ketamine Sentencing Addiction
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