INSIDE
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December 12 - December 18, 2025 Volume CXXIII Issue 214
Frank Gehry, Visionary Architect Behind Global Landmarks, Dies at 96 See Page 6
Two Killed in Malibu Head-On Crash on PCH; Alcohol Suspected, CHP Says Driver Crossed Into Oncoming Traffic on Pacific Coast Highway, Killing Both Drivers
In Malibu, Thursday night, a fiery headon collision on Pacific Coast Highway left two men dead and another person seriously injured, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash occurred around 6:55 p.m. December 4 on State Route 1 just south of Deer Creek Road. CHP investigators said a 25-year-old man driving a Dodge Charger northbound crossed over the double yellow lines into the southbound lane for reasons still under investigation. The Charger slammed into a Chevrolet
Tahoe driven by a 53-year-old man, CHP said. When first responders arrived, both drivers were unresponsive and were later pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Charger was taken to a local hospital with major injuries. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the collision, according to CHP. All occupants were wearing seat belts, and no arrests have been made as the investigation continues. The roadway was closed for about three hours while officers and Caltrans crews processed the scene and cleared debris. All lanes reopened around 10:10 p.m., CHP Ventura said in a post on Twitter. The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the names of the victims after notifying their families. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage from the area at the time is urged to contact the CHP Ventura Area office at 805-662-2640.
Ex-Santa Monica Doctor Sentenced for Illegally Supplying Ketamine to Matthew Perry
injection, and left at least one vial with Perry’s Federal Prosecutors license. According to court documents, Plasencia personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, operated Malibu Canyon Urgent Care, an who paid him $4,500. Investigators said Say the Former urgent-care clinic in Calabasas. Prosecutors Plasencia continued supplying ketamine in he was well aware that ketamine is a the days that followed, administering doses Physician Repeatedly said controlled substance and that its off-label to Perry both at his home and once in a use to treat mental health conditions carries Long Beach parking lot while Perry sat in Sold Ketamine significant medical risks, including sedation, the back seat of a car. to Perry and His psychological reactions, and potential During one session, Perry’s blood pressure abuse. His own treatment notes emphasized spiked and he became unresponsive, falsified treatment notes and an altered Assistant Despite that patients should be monitored by a prosecutors said. Despite the medical invoice to federal agents responding to a physician during administration. complication, Plasencia left more ketamine subpoena, prosecutors said. The records Safety Risks, Plasencia first met Perry on Sept. 30, with Iwamasa, knowing the assistant— were designed to conceal his cash-based 2023, after being introduced by a patient who had no medical training—would be sales to Iwamasa. One fabricated note Charging Tens of who described the actor as a “high-profile injecting the drug. claimed Perry missed an appointment on seeking ketamine and willing to pay Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 12, 2023, Oct. 7, even though Plasencia had scheduled Thousands of Dollars person” thousands of dollars in cash, prosecutors Plasencia distributed roughly 20 vials a midnight meeting that evening—at a Santa for the Drugs wrote. Hours later, Plasencia contacted and several tablets of ketamine to Perry Monica street corner—with Iwamasa to sell Federal prosecutors on Tuesday secured a 30-month prison sentence for a former Santa Monica physician who repeatedly supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry, even as he acknowledged the risks of giving the drug to a patient with a long history of addiction. Salvador Plasencia, 44, known to some patients as “Dr. P,” received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also imposed a $5,600 fine and ordered him taken into custody immediately. Plasencia pleaded guilty in July to four counts of distributing ketamine and later surrendered his California medical
San Diego physician Mark Chavez, 55, and drove to Costa Mesa, where he purchased nearly $800 worth of ketamine vials and tablets, as well as syringes and gloves. “Rather than do what was best for Mr. Perry – someone who had struggled with addiction for most of his life – [Plasencia] sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Indeed, the day [Plasencia] met Perry he made his profit motive known, telling a co-conspirator: ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay’ and ‘let’s find out.’” That same day, Plasencia went to Perry’s Los Angeles home, administered a ketamine
and Iwamasa, charging about $57,000 for the transactions. Prosecutors noted that ketamine typically sells for about $15 per vial. Later in October, Plasencia used his DEA registration to order an additional 10 vials from a licensed pharmaceutical supplier. On Oct. 27, he texted Iwamasa to say he had “stocked up” and left supplies with a nurse in case they wanted to resume treatments while he was out of town. Perry fatally overdosed on ketamine one day later. Federal authorities emphasized that the drug responsible for his death did not come from Plasencia. After the overdose, Plasencia submitted
additional vials of ketamine. Several others charged in connection with the broader case have also admitted guilt. Chavez and Iwamasa are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 17, 2025, and Jan. 14, 2026. Two additional defendants, Erik Fleming, 56, of Hawthorne, and Jasveen “Ketamine Queen” Sangha, 42, of North Hollywood, await sentencing in early 2026. The investigation was conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ian V. Yanniello and Haoxiaohan H. Cai prosecuted the case.