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LOS ANGELES — One of two doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry's death is set to appear Friday in a federal court in Los Angeles after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, signed an agreement with prosecutors earlier this month to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical surgical anesthetic ketamine.
Plans for Chavez's hearing to enter the plea will be made at Friday's arraignment, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
He would be the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the "Friends" star's fatal overdose last year.
Chavez also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they pursue others, including the doctor Chavez worked with to sell ketamine to Perry. Also working with the U.S. Attorney's Office are Perry's assistant, who admitted to helping him obtain and inject ketamine, and a Perry acquaintance, who admitted to acting as a drug messenger and middleman.
The three are helping prosecutors as they go after their main targets: Dr. Salvador Plasencia, charged with illegally selling ketamine to Perry in the month before his death, and Jasveen Sangha, a woman who authorities say is a dealer who sold the actor the lethal dose of ketamine. Both have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
Chavez admitted in his plea agreement that he obtained ketamine from his former clinic and from a wholesale distributor where he submitted a fraudulent prescription.
After a guilty plea, he could get up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28. The medical examiner ruled ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common.
Seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him, about a month before his death Perry found Plasencia, who in turn allegedly asked Chavez to obtain the drug for him.
"I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia is accused of texting Chavez. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and allegedly exchanged at least four vials of ketamine.
After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, prosecutors say Plasencia asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry's "go-to."
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges on Aug. 15 that "the doctors preyed on Perry's history of addiction in the final months of his life last year to provide him with ketamine in amounts they knew were dangerous."
Plasencia is charged with seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two charges related to allegations he falsified records after Perry's death. He and Sangha are scheduled to return to court next week. They have separate trial dates set for October, but prosecutors are seeking a single trial that likely would be delayed to next year.
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on "Friends," when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC's megahit sitcom.
Correction: A previous version stated Mark Chavez was expected to plead guilty Friday. He is expected to enter his plea at a later date.
