Overview
- On Tuesday, June 9, Dr. Salvador Plasencia asked the Ninth Circuit to overturn or reduce his 30-month federal sentence by arguing he acted as a drug dealer, not a treating physician.
- Plasencia pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine and was sentenced in December 2025 to 30 months in prison followed by supervised release.
- He does not deny supplying Perry but says the district court erred by applying an "abuse of position of trust" enhancement and by double-counting conduct tied to alleged record alterations.
- Prosecutors relied on plea admissions, text messages and records showing Plasencia provided vials, lozenges and syringes to Perry, and the judge said those messages showed he exploited Perry’s addiction for profit.
- The appeals court’s decision, now pending, could change how courts treat suppliers with medical credentials and affect sentencing disparities among the five defendants in the Perry investigation.