Dr. Salvador Plasencia Biography – Dr. Salvador Plasencia Wiki

Dr. Salvador Plasencia, a physician based in Santa Monica, has been implicated as one of five individuals charged in relation to the ketamine overdose death of actor Matthew Perry on October 28, 2023, when Perry was 54. On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, Dr. Plasencia admitted guilt to four counts of distributing ketamine during a court session in Los Angeles.

In federal court in Los Angeles, Plasencia stood with his attorney and affirmed his guilt four times for each charge in front of Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett. He only spoke to respond to the judge’s questions. Plasencia assured the judge that his legal team had thoroughly reviewed all plea and sentencing options by stating, “They’ve considered everything.”

Dr. Plasencia’s lawyer, Debra White, expressed via an emailed statement after the court proceedings, “Dr. Plasencia is deeply remorseful about the choices he made while administering ketamine to Matthew Perry. By confessing to drug distribution, he fully accepts his responsibility. Furthermore, Dr. Plasencia plans to willingly give up his medical license, recognizing his failure to safeguard Mr. Perry, a patient particularly at risk due to addiction.”

“While Dr. Plasencia was not treating Mr. Perry at the time of his death,” his lawyer’s statement said, “he hopes his case serves as a warning to other medical professionals and leads to stricter oversight and clear protocols for the rapidly growing at-home ketamine industry in order to prevent future tragedies like this.”

In exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors have agreed to drop three additional counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of falsifying records. Prosecutors outlined the charges in court before the plea, and said that he did not sell Perry the dose that killed the “Friends” actor.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia Age

Dr. Salvador Plasencia was born in 1982 in Los Angeles, California. He is 43 years old in 2025.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia Wife

Dr. Salvador Plasencia is married. He and his wife share a son together.

Education

Born and raised in California, Dr. Salvador Plasencia graduated from Arroyo High School in El Monte, California. He received a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California Riverside. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and his resident training from the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa.

Medical Experience

Dr. Plasencia is a physician lead at his medical practice, Malibu Canyon Urgent Care, an urgent care clinic in Calabasas, California. Dr. Plasencia is trained in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. He has over 15 years of medical experience and is able to treat patients of all ages. Having worked as an Emergency Room physician, he also has experience dealing with urgent medical issues.

He was employed by UCLA Health as an internal medicine clinical instructor from 2017-2020, during which time he provided outpatient care primarily at a clinic in Encino. According to his LinkedIn account, Plasencia started the telehealth company TeliMedi in July 2020.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia Nationality

He is of American nationality.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia Ethnicity

He is of Hispanic heritage.