Where is Salvador Plasencia now? All about Impact x Nightline: What Happened to Matthew Perry? subject explored

Dr. Salvador Plasencia is one of the most important players involved in the death of Friends star Matthew Perry in October 2023. He is a doctor who, according to allegations, was very instrumental in providing Perry with ketamine, which eventually led to an accidental overdose of the actor.

Plasencia specializes in internal and pediatric medicine and is now facing very serious federal charges. He was arrested in August 2024, but he is out on bond and expects his trial. ABC's Impact x Nightline episode "What Happened to Matthew Perry?" detailed disturbing aspects of Matthew Perry's final days.

Plasencia was front and center in the case, principally because of his action of enabling the abuse of ketamine, a legally prescribed substance for mental health treatments, but one with a highly dangerous potential for abuse. The investigative reporting on the show is about a sad end and legal consequences for the parties involved, such as Dr. Plasencia's case.

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Salvador's medical background and role in Matthew Perry's death

Dr. Salvador Plasencia had a well-known history as a successful doctor before the media released the news linking him to the death of Matthew Perry. A native Californian, he earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of California-Riverside, after which he pursued a medical doctorate from UCLA.

After completing an internal medicine and pediatrics residency in Oklahoma, he returned to California to begin his private practice in Calabasas. In addition to his private practice, Plasencia worked in other healthcare facilities, including Malibu Canyon Urgent Care and TeliMedi in Thousand Oaks.

Things took a dark turn in 2023 as he pleaded guilty to selling unlawful ketamine to Matthew Perry. Impact x Nightline reported that Plasencia and another doctor, Mark Chavez, had hatched a plot to collect and distribute numerous medicine supplies to Perry via fake prescriptions and medical records.

Plasencia's efforts even instructed Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, on how to use the medicine. These concluded with Perry overdosing to death in October 2023, and what's below is a federal case against Salvador Plasencia.

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Legal charges and arrest of Salvador Plasencia

Salvador Plasencia was arrested nearly a year to the date that Perry overdosed and died in August 2024. The charges brought on Plasencia are serious enough, consisting of seven illegal ketamine distributions and two medical records falsification counts.

Court documents show that Plasencia sold at least $50,000 in ketamine to Perry over a few weeks, further exacerbating the dire straits that the actor was already under. According to text messages exchanged between Plasencia and Dr. Mark Chavez, there is an evident intent to profit off of Perry's addiction to said substance in that Plasencia referred to Perry as a "repeat customer.".

After his arrest, Plasencia pleaded not guilty but is free under a $100,000 bond. He is also barred from practicing medicine while he remains in California to await his trial. If found guilty, Plasencia can expect to be sentenced to as much as 110 federal years in prison—10 years on each of the separate counts of drug distribution and 20 years on each count of falsification.

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Salvador Plasencia's current status

Dr. Salvador Plasencia is out on bail but is scheduled for trials related to Matthew Perry's death. Although he can no longer practice as a doctor, Dr. Salvador Plasencia continues to manage his clinic in Calabasas in purely non-medical terms.

Plasencia's court case is far from settled because he is awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin sometime this year. Should he be convicted, he will spend the rest of his life locked away in a federal prison. ABC's Impact x Nightline didn't only concentrate on Plasencia but also the broader issues surrounding ketamine abuse involving Hollywood stars.

The episode is a cautionary tale on one of the most potent drugs with disastrous consequences if mishandled without proper control. Perry's death portrays broad questions about ethics applied in the medical field towards actors, and Plasencia's involvement has become one of the central points of that debate.

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The alleged role of supplying ketamine to Matthew Perry, which led to his heart-wrenching death, has overshadowed the once bright medical career of Salvador Plasencia. Plasencia's future now depends on the outcome of his trial, whether he is to stay free as he awaits his trial.