Doctor in Matthew Perry Death Probe Set to Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Ketamine Charge
Mark Chavez is set to appear before a judge Friday afternoon after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors in the case that saw five people arrested.
Following an appearance in a Los Angeles federal court on Friday, one of the two California doctors indicted as part of the investigation into the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine, a Department of Justice official confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
Mark Chavez, 54, is set to appear in federal court on Friday afternoon for an initial bond hearing and arraignment, according to Ciaran McEvoy with the United States Attorneys’ Office, who said Chavez is expected to enter a guilty plea in the coming weeks. A probe saw five people arrested for their roles in the untimely death of the Friends star. When entered by Chavez, as anticipated, his will mark the third guilty plea to come out of the investigation into Perry’s death; the actor was found dead in his backyard hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home in October.
On Aug. 15, it was announced by authorities that five people were indicted in Perry’s death after a months-long probe unearthed a “broad underground criminal network,” a coalition of law enforcement agencies announced at a press conference that afternoon. This group included his live-in housekeeper, two doctors, a drug dealer with whom Perry associated, and a woman dubbed “the ketamine queen” by law enforcement.