Los Angeles  — One of two doctors indicted in the investigation into Matthew Perry’s death is set to plead guilty Wednesday in a Los Angeles federal court to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine.

Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, accepted a plea agreement with prosecutors in August, becoming the third individual to plead guilty following the “Friends” star’s tragic overdose last year.

Prosecutors proposed lower charges to Chavez and two others in exchange for their assistance as they pursued two people they believe are more culpable for the overdose death: another doctor and an alleged dealer known as the “ketamine queen” of Los Angeles.

Doctor Charged In Connection With Matthew Perry’s Death Is Expected To Plead Guilty

Chavez is free on bond after handing over his passport and medical license, among other requirements.

His lawyer, Matthew Binninger, stated following Chavez’s initial court appearance on Aug. 30 that he is “incredibly remorseful” and “trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here.”

Perry’s assistant, who admitted to assisting him in obtaining and injecting ketamine, and a Perry acquaintance, who admitted to serving as a drug courier and intermediary, are also cooperating with federal authorities.

The three are assisting prosecutors in their case of Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who is accused of unlawfully selling ketamine to Perry in the month preceding his death, and Jasveen Sangha, a woman who officials claim provided the actor the lethal quantity of ketamine. Both pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

In his guilty deal, Chavez admitted to obtaining ketamine from his prior clinic as well as a wholesale distributor to whom he submitted a bogus prescription.

After pleading guilty, he might face up to ten years in jail when sentenced.

Perry was discovered deceased by his assistant on October 28. The medical examiner concluded that ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been taking the medicine as prescribed by his regular doctor, which is a legitimate but off-label treatment for depression that is becoming more widespread.

Doctor Charged In Connection With Matthew Perry’s Death Is Expected To Plead Guilty

Perry started requesting more ketamine than his doctor would give him. About a month before his death, the actor saw Plasencia, who then begged Chavez to procure the medication for him.

“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez. They met on the same day in Costa Mesa, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and swapped at least four ketamine vials.

After selling the pills to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia asked Chavez if he could continue to supply them so they could become Perry’s “go-to.”

Perry suffered from addiction for many years, beginning with his time on “Friends,” when he rose to prominence as Chandler Bing. From 1994 until 2004, he starred with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer in NBC’s megahit sitcom.

SOURCE | AP

NEW YORK — Daniel Day-Lewis is returning from retirement, seven years after his last film, for a film directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis.

The collaboration was unveiled Tuesday by Focus Features and Plan B, who are working together on “Anemone.” The film, Ronan Day-Lewis’ directorial debut, will feature his father, Sean Bean, and Samantha Morton. The two Day-Lewises co-wrote the picture.

Earlier Tuesday, Daniel Day-Lewis and Bean were seen riding a motorbike around Manchester, England, fuelling speculation about his anticipated return to acting. After completing Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2017 film “Phantom Thread,” the 67-year-old announced his retirement from performing.

Daniel Day-Lewis Ends Acting Retirement For A Movie Directed By His Son

“All my life, I’ve mouthed off about how I should stop acting, and I don’t know why it was different this time, but the impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion,” the actor told W Magazine in 2017. “It was something I had to do.”

He has made few public appearances since then. In January, he made an unexpected appearance at the National Board of Review Awards, when he presented an award to Martin Scorsese, who directed him in “Gangs of New York” (2002) and “The Age of Innocence” (1993).

“Anemone,” which is now under production, is characterized as looking at “the intricate relationships between fathers, sons, and brothers, as well as the dynamics of familial bonds.”

Ronan Day-Lewis, 26, is a painter who has previously shown his work in New York. His first international solo show opens Tuesday in Hong Kong.

Daniel Day-Lewis Ends Acting Retirement For A Movie Directed By His Son

“We could not be more excited to partner with a brilliant visual artist in Ronan Day-Lewis on his first feature film, alongside Daniel Day-Lewis as his creative collaborator,” said Peter Kujawski, chair of Focus Features. “They have written a truly exceptional script, and we look forward to bringing their shared vision to audiences alongside the team at Plan B.”

SOURCE | AP

NEW YORK — John Ashton, the veteran character actor who famously played the gruff but endearing police investigator John Taggart in the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ movie, died. He was 76.

John passed away on Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, according to a statement released on Sunday by Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers. No cause of death was immediately determined.

John Ashton, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Actor, Dies At 76

In a career spanning more than 50 years, John was a familiar face across TV shows and films, including “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League,” and “Go Baby Gone.”

But in the “Beverly Hills Cop” movie, John was an integral part of an unforgettable triumvirate. Though Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley, a Detroit detective investigating a crime in Los Angeles, was the main character, the two local detectives — Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Ashton’s Taggart — were Axel’s sometimes reluctant, sometimes eager accomplices.

Of the three, Taggart — “Sarge” to Billy — was the more fearful, by-the-book detective. But he was constantly lured into Axel’s ideas. Ashton co-starred in all four films, beginning with the 1984 original and continuing through the Netflix reboot, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” which debuted earlier this year.

Ashton played a more unscrupulous character in Martin Brest’s 1988 buddy comedy “Midnight Run.” In “The Duke,” he played a rival bounty hunter who is simultaneously hunting Charles Grodin’s wanted accountant while he is in the hands of Robert De Niro’s Jack Walsh.

John Ashton, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Actor, Dies At 76

In a July interview with Collider, John discussed auditioning with De Niro.

“Bobby started handing me these matches, and I tried to grab the matches, and he dropped them on the floor and stared at me,” Ashton recalled.” “I looked at the matches, then looked up and said, ‘F—- you,’ to which he replied, ‘F—- you, too.’ I said, ‘Go —- yourself.’ I know every other actor picked those up and delivered them to him, and as soon as I left, he said, ‘I want him,’ because he needed someone to stand up to him.”

John is survived by his wife of 24 years, Robin Hoye, his two daughters, three stepchildren, a grandson, two sisters, and a brother.

SOURCE | AP