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What Plasencia was sentenced for
Plasencia, a former physician who owned and operated Malibu Canyon Urgent Care in Calabasas, pleaded guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution. He surrendered his California medical license in September 2025. The federal sentence, imposed in December 2025, was 30 months in prison, plus a $5,600 fine.
The Justice Department says Plasencia knew Perry had a history of addiction and knew Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, would inject ketamine without medical training or supervision. Prosecutors said the transfers were not for a legitimate medical purpose and fell below proper medical care.
How Plasencia supplied Perry and Iwamasa
According to the Justice Department’s account, a patient introduced Plasencia to Perry on September 30, 2023, as someone seeking ketamine and willing to pay for it. Plasencia contacted another physician, Mark Chavez, obtained ketamine, then went to Perry’s home, injected him and left at least one vial with Iwamasa.
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Between September 30 and October 12, 2023, Plasencia supplied Perry and Iwamasa with 20 vials of ketamine, multiple tablets and syringes, the department says. Prosecutors said Plasencia charged $57,000 for these efforts. Those details appear in the Justice Department’s sentencing account.
Plasencia did not supply the fatal dose
The distinction matters: the Justice Department says Plasencia did not provide the ketamine that caused Perry’s death. The DEA’s later case summary says Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine supplied by Jasveen Sangha through Erik Fleming. On October 28, 2023, Iwamasa administered at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, causing Perry’s death, according to the DEA.
What the judge said at sentencing
At the December 2025 hearing, U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett told Plasencia, “You exploited Mr. Perry’s addiction for your own profit,” according to the Associated Press. AP also reported Garnett saying, “You and others helped Mr. Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to feed his ketamine addiction.” The Los Angeles Times separately reported her saying, “You took a Hippocratic oath to do no harm, but you did harm.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the other defendants’ sentences compare
The defendants’ sentences reflect different convictions and conduct; they are not like-for-like outcomes. The Justice Department and DEA reported these dispositions by October 2026:
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minute| Defendant | Plea or conviction | Conduct attributed by official sources | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salvador Plasencia | Pleaded guilty to four ketamine-distribution counts. | Supplied ketamine to Perry and Iwamasa; DOJ says he did not provide the fatal ketamine. | 30 months in prison and a $5,600 fine. |
| Jasveen Sangha | Pleaded guilty to drug charges including distribution resulting in death or serious bodily injury. | Supplied the ketamine that Iwamasa administered in the fatal injections, according to the DEA case summary. | 180 months (15 years), according to the Justice Department. |
| Kenneth Iwamasa | Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury. | Repeatedly injected Perry, including with ketamine supplied by Sangha through Fleming, according to the DEA. | 41 months, according to the DEA. |
| Mark Chavez | Pleaded guilty; DOJ reports his disposition. | Provided Plasencia with ketamine. | Three years of probation, eight months of home detention and 300 hours of community service, according to the Justice Department. |
The DEA described Iwamasa’s May 2026 sentence as the final defendant sentencing in the case. His offense included death or serious bodily injury, unlike Plasencia’s four distribution counts; the different pleas and admitted conduct are essential context for comparing the punishments.
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