LOS ANGELES — A former California doctor was sentenced to 8 months of home detention and 3 years of supervised release Tuesday after pleading guilty to ketamine distribution in connection with the fatal overdose of “Friends” star Matthew Perry.

Mark Chavez pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry, who died at 54. Chavez appeared Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in Los Angeles. He faced up to 10 years in prison.

He will also be required to complete 300 hours of community service and pay a $100 special assessment to the U.S. government.

“My heart goes out to the Perry family,” Chavez said outside of court after his sentencing.

Zach Brooks, a member of Chavez’s legal team, said Tuesday: “what occurred in this case was a profound departure from the life he had lived up to that point. The consequences have been severe and permanent. Mr. Chavez has lost his career, his livelihood, and professional identity that he has worked for decades to develop.”

“Looking forward, Mr. Chavez understands that accountability does not end with this sentence. He’s committed to using the rest of his life to contribute positively, to support others and to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Brooks said. “While he cannot undo what occurred, he can choose how he lives his life from this moment.”

Chavez was one of five people charged in connection with Perry’s death. The TV star died of an accidental overdose and was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023.

Chavez’s lawyer, Matthew Binninger, has previously said his client was “incredibly remorseful” and “accepting responsibility” for his patient’s overdose.

Chavez was a licensed physician in San Diego who formerly operated a ketamine clinic. Prosecutors said he sold ketamine to another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, who then distributed it to Perry.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia said in a text exchange to Chavez, according to the investigators. “Lets find out.”

Earlier this month, Plasencia was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for his involvement in the case.

Chavez wrote “a fraudulent prescription in a patient’s name without her knowledge or consent, and lied to wholesale ketamine distributors to buy additional vials of liquid ketamine that Chavez intended to sell to Plasencia for distribution to Perry,” the indictment in the case said.

In the month before his death, the doctors provided Perry with about 20 vials of ketamine and received some $55,000 in cash, according to federal prosecutors.

Perry was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety, according to a coroner’s report. However, the levels of ketamine in his body at the time of his death were dangerously high, roughly the same amount used for general anesthesia during surgery. The coroner ruled his death an accident.

Before his death, Perry was open about his lengthy struggles with opioid addiction and alcohol use disorder, which he chronicled in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.”

Katie Wall reported from Los Angeles and Daniella Silva reported from New York.

DENVER – Two big weather stories will play out Wednesday in Colorado’s High Country and portions of the plains and I-25 corridor as high winds are expected to batter portions of the state. The wind and low humidity will also create conditions for the rapid spread of any fire along the I-25 corridor including the Denver metro area.

“It will be another unseasonable warm day on Tuesday, which is day 8 of 60 degree plus temps,” said Lisa Hidalgo, Denver7 chief meteorologist. “Unfortunately with the warmer, dry and windy conditions, we’re looking at higher fire danger.”

“Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Strong winds will likely lead to rapid fire growth of any new fire,” wrote National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters in Boulder.

A high wind warning starts at 11 a.m Wednesday and will be in effect until midnight.

“Strong downslope winds to impact the mountains, foothills, and I-25 corridor Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night, with potential for widespread gusts 60-85 mph, strongest near the base of the foothills. Breezy conditions will extend into the plains through Thursday morning.”

Colorado’s mountains and foothills above 9,000 feet could see up to 85 mph wind gusts on Wednesday. Wind gusts between 50 to 70 mph are also possible for the lower foothills and communities on the western side of the I-25 corridor, wrote the NWS, which called the weather system a “high impact wind event.”

NWS Boulder

A red flag warning will go into effect starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday for the I-25 corridor to include Fort Collins, Boulder, the Denver metro, and Castle Rock through Colorado Springs.

The NWS said the “primary window of concern” will run through 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Due to the wind situation, Xcel Energy customers should be advised the utility is planning for a Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, on Wednesday which means power would be proactively shut off in targeted areas for a period of time when wildfire risk is extremely high.

Before any PSPS would happen, Xcel Energy would first use another tool called Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings or EPSS.

EPSS are extra protections which allow power lines to remain active until an issue is detected such as “a tree branch or other object touching” a line, according to Xcel Energy.

Once an issue is detected, power to the line is shut off.

NWS Boulder

While Tuesday will remain mostly dry in Colorado, the weather system triggering Wednesday’s high winds will also bring snow to the higher elevations.

Hidalgo said there is a slight chance a shower could roll across the Denver metro area late Wednesday afternoon into the early evening hours.

Stay with Denver7 for updates and we will publish a live, Colorado weather blog tracking impacts on Wednesday.

Denver7’s Stephanie Butzer contributed to this report.

Denver7

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