Doctor expected to plead guilty in death of 'Friends' star Matthew Perry

LOS ANGELES, Oct 2 (Reuters) - One of two California doctors who were among the five people charged in the overdose death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday to a charge of illegally distributing the drug ketamine.

Dr. Mark Chavez has signed an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties.

Chavez is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. local time (1700 GMT) to enter his plea. At sentencing, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Another physician charged in the case, Dr. Salvador Plascencia, has pleaded not guilty, as has co-defendant Jasveen Sangha, who authorities said was an illicit supplier of the drug and was known as the "ketamine queen." The pair are scheduled to go on trial in March.

Perry's live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who admitted to injecting Perry, and the alleged middleman who said he obtained ketamine from Sangha, have already pleaded guilty to charges they faced.

Authorities said Plascencia purchased ketamine from Chavez, and in text messages to Chavez discussing the amount to charge Perry for the drug wrote: "I wonder how much this moron will pay."

Plascencia administered ketamine to Perry and supplied vials that were injected by the assistant, according to court documents. Perry died at age 54 in October 2023 from "acute effects" of ketamine and other factors that caused him to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub, according to a December 2023 autopsy report.

The actor had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including during the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s television sitcom "Friends."

Matt Binninger, Chavez's attorney, told reporters in August that his client was "doing everything in his power to cooperate, to help in this situation. He’s incredibly remorseful," Binninger said.

The lawyer added that Chavez's regret stemmed not from Perry's celebrity but from the fact that "someone who was trying to seek treatment died."