Sergio Suarez, 34, was arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, per court documents. Sunrise Police Department
(SUNRISE, Fla.) — A Florida man is charged with a felony after allegedly towing a car with a 4-year-old girl inside Sunday, who then fell out of the vehicle and onto the road.
The tow truck driver, Sergio Suarez, 34, can be seen in a video driving away from the Bistro Creole restaurant in Sunrise, Florida, where the vehicle had been parked, as the girl’s father runs after him and tells him to stop.
According to the arrest report, the father told responding officers that he was inside the restaurant when the tow truck began towing his car. He said he ran outside and banged on the tow truck window to alert the driver that his daughter was inside the car but the driver ignored him and drove off, the arrest report said.
The father chased after the tow truck as it drove away, and “observed his daughter fall out of the vehicle onto the roadway,” according to the arrest report, which says the father ran into traffic to retrieve her and carried her to safety. The girl suffered “superficial injuries” to her arms and right calf and was taken to a hospital for treatment, the arrest report said.
Suarez returned to the restaurant with the towed vehicle after the responding officer called the towing company, according to the arrest report. Once Suarez arrived to drop off the car, he was arrested and taken into custody.
According to the arrest report, Suarez told the responding officer that he hadn’t checked the vehicle for occupants before he towed it, and that he kept driving after the father banged on his window “because he feared the male might become aggressive.”
Suarez further claimed that “he received multiple phone calls” from his towing company, All-Ways Towing, telling him that there was a girl in the vehicle he was towing, but when he stopped the truck and checked the vehicle he found no one inside, the arrest report said.
Suarez’s alleged actions “constituted culpable negligence and demonstrated a reckless disregard for the safety of a minor, directly resulting in injury to the child,” according to the arrest report.
Suarez is charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, which is a third-degree felony in Florida, and was released on $10,000 bond, according to court records.
According to ABC affiliate station WSVN in Miami, Suarez’s attorney said in court Monday that Suarez checked the vehicle three times before he towed it, but the judge noted that the video of the incident showed otherwise and that Suarez “admitted that he didn’t look at the vehicle.”
All-Ways Towing declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner attend Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Los Angeles Dinner, March 22, 2025 in Los Angeles. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — Jake and Romy Reiner, the children of renowned Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner, are speaking out for the first time after their brother, Nick Reiner, was arrested for allegedly killing their parents.
“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,” Jake and Romy Reiner said in a statement released by a family spokesperson on Wednesday. “The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”
“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life,” Jake and Romy Reiner said. “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
Nick Reiner, 32, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders, for allegedly stabbing his parents to death on Sunday, according to prosecutors.
The Reiners’ daughter is the one who found her parents’ bodies in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.
Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, who met while Rob Reiner was directing “When Harry Met Sally…,” married in 1989 and share three children: Jake, Nick and Romy. Rob Reiner is also survived by daughter Tracy Reiner with his first wife, Penny Marshall.
ABC News’ Brooke Stangeland contributed to this report.
The FBI released new images on Dec. 15, 2025, of an individual sought in connection with the mass shooting at Brown University. FBI
(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump posted to social media early on Wednesday regarding the ongoing search for a gunman who killed two students at Brown University last weekend, criticizing the university for having so few security cameras on campus.
“Why did Brown University have so few Security Cameras?” the president wrote. “There can be no excuse for that. In the modern age, it just doesn’t get worse!!!”
Students Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, were killed in the shooting, which occurred on Saturday afternoon. Nine other students were injured in the attack.
As the search for a person of interest in the shooting stretched into its fifth day on Wednesday, the Providence Police Department released images of an individual investigators said “was in proximity of the person of interest.” Police said only that they would like to speak to the individual.
During a news conference Tuesday night, Col. Oscar Perez, chief of the Providence Police Department, said the only videos investigators have released so far are from outside the building.
“That’s all we have. Not inside, just outside,” Perez said.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha added that investigators have found no security video of the gunman inside the school’s Barus & Holley engineering building, where the shooting unfolded in a lecture hall.
He said the shooting happened in an old section of the engineering complex.
“There was a major addition put onto that building within the last five years or so. That is a modern building attached to a much older one in the back,” Neronha explained. “The shooting occurs in the old part, towards the back, towards Hope Street. In that older part of the building, there are fewer, if any, cameras in that location. I imagine because it’s an older building.”
Neronha said there are cameras in the newer section of the complex, saying they captured “things like the chaos after the shooting.”
“But what they don’t show is this person of interest,” Neronha said. “So, that’s why we haven’t released those videos. What you do have are videos from a camera outside the Brown building and other cameras from around the neighborhood that the good men and women of law enforcement located and put together in this montage.”
Just after the shooting, which the FBI said occurred at 4:03 p.m. local time, a security video captured the individual emerging onto Hope Street from what investigators described as “lot 42” on the Brown campus, near the Barus & Holley building.
As the individual crossed Hope Street, a police cruiser with its emergency lights flashing was seen less than a block away from him, pulling up and stopping on Hope Street near the scene of the shooting.
Neronha said the Barus & Holley building is on the east edge of the campus, abutting a residential neighborhood.
“It’s not in the heartland of the campus, it’s not the green, and there are several greens. It’s not any of them,” Neronha said. “So, it’s right on the edge of the campus, and where the shooting took place is at the very edge of that building on the edge of the campus.”
Neronha added, “As those of you who know Providence know, you are very quickly into a residential neighborhood, which is why the video footage you are seeing of this person of interest’s movements pre-and post-shooting are in that neighborhood.”
In a statement released late Tuesday night, a Brown University spokesperson said there are more than 1,200 security cameras installed across the campus, specifically in high-traffic areas.
“Brown’s security cameras do not extend to every hallway, classroom, laboratory and office across the 250+ buildings on campus,” the spokesperson said. “For security reasons, it is not prudent to share where cameras are and are not relative to individual buildings and locations.”
The spokesperson added that access to most buildings on campus during the daytime “are open and accessible, while after hours, ID card swipes are required for entry.”
Brown has considerably increased security on campus since the shooting, and the school spokesperson said, “We will do a large-scale, systematic security review of the entire campus.”
On Wednesday, the Providence Police Department said investigators are trying to identify an individual they would like to speak to who “was in proximity of the person of interest.” The police department released three images of the person and asked for the public’s help.
In an update on the conditions of victims who are still being treated at Rhode Island Hospital, officials said one patient remains in critical but stable condition, six others are in stable condition and two victims have been discharged.
Police also released enhanced surveillance images and video of a person of interest and asked the public for help identifying the individual based on movement patterns, posture and body language.
Authorities said they believe the person of interest was in the area from around 10 a.m. on Saturday, hours before the attack. The individual may have been surveying the neighborhood in advance, investigators said.
“We believe that he was actually casing out the area,” Col. Perez said of the person of interest, adding, “We strongly believe that he is a suspect in the incident.”
Police said the gunman fled the campus after the shooting. A person of interest was detained and then released by police on Sunday. No charges have been filed and police have not commented on a possible motive.
The FBI described the person of interest as “a male, approximately 5’8″ with a stocky build.”
Police said reviewing the large volume of video data is time-consuming and that public assistance could help identify key moments.
Officials reported they have received hundreds of tips so far, with nearly 200 considered actionable and still under investigation.
Authorities reiterated that there is no credible or specific ongoing threat related to the shooting, but said increased security measures will remain in place as a precaution while the investigation continues.
ABC News’ Alex Ederson contributed to this report.
Nick Reiner, son of Rob Reiner is arrested in Los Angeles, Dec. 14, 2025. LAPD
(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, renowned Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner, made a brief first appearance in court on Wednesday.
He waived the right to a speedy arraignment. The arraignment is set for Jan. 7.
Nick Reiner was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders, for allegedly stabbing his parents to death early on Sunday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, Hochman said.
“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty,” Hochman said.
“Our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family,” Jackson said after court on Wednesday. “There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case.”
“We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed … not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves,” Jackson said.
New videos obtained by ABC News appear to show the moments leading up to Nick Reiner’s arrest on Sunday night.
One of the videos appears to show Nick Reiner moments before his arrest near the University of Southern California. In the video, he’s wearing jeans, a striped jacket and a baseball cap. He’s seen with a red backpack slung over one shoulder as he enters a gas station and purchases a drink.
Another video shows him outside walking near a crosswalk when several police vehicles with flashing lights surround him. He can be seen in the video raising his hands.
The Reiners’ daughter found her parents’ bodies in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.
A neighbor told ABC News that actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the house after police arrived on Sunday, and the neighbor said, “Billy looked like he was about to cry.”
Nick Reiner — who was living on his parents’ property, according to a former family security guard — had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager. In 2016, Nick Reiner worked with his dad on the movie “Being Charlie,” which was based largely on his struggle with drug addiction.
Sources told ABC News that Nick Reiner got into an argument with his father at a holiday party on Saturday night and was seen acting strangely.
“Prosecuting cases involving family violence are some of the most challenging and heart-wrenching we face because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes,” Hochman said in a statement on Tuesday.
Nick Reiner, son of Rob Reiner is arrested in Los Angeles, Dec. 14, 2025. LAPD
(LOS ANGELES) — New videos appear to show the moments leading up to the arrest of Nick Reiner for the murders of his parents, renowned Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner.
One of the videos appears to show Nick Reiner, 32, moments before his Sunday night arrest near the University of Southern California. In the video, he’s wearing jeans, a striped jacket and a baseball cap. He’s seen with a red backpack slung over one shoulder as he enters a gas station and purchases a drink.
Another video shows him outside walking near a crosswalk when several police vehicles with flashing lights surround him. He can be seen in the video raising his hands.
Police said they found him thanks to “good, solid police work.”
Nick Reiner was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders, for allegedly stabbing his parents to death early on Sunday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
Nick Reiner’s defense attorney, Alan Jackson — who helped defend Karen Read in Massachusetts — told reporters that the 32-year-old is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, Hochman said.
“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty,” Hochman said.
The Reiners’ daughter found her parents’ bodies in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.
A neighbor told ABC News that actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the house after police arrived on Sunday, and the neighbor said, “Billy looked like he was about to cry.”
Nick Reiner — who was living on his parents’ property, according to a former family security guard — had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager. In 2016, Nick Reiner worked with his dad on the movie “Being Charlie,” which was based largely on his struggle with drug addiction.
Sources told ABC News that Nick Reiner got into an argument with his father at a holiday party on Saturday night and was seen acting strangely.
“Prosecuting cases involving family violence are some of the most challenging and heart-wrenching we face because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes,” Hochman said in a statement on Tuesday.
Signage outside a Tricolor dealership in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Ash Ponders/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed criminal charges Wednesday in connection with the collapse of subprime auto lender and used car retailer Tricolor Holdings, which went bankrupt earlier this year.
Founder and CEO Daniel Chu, COO Daniel Goodgame, and former Tricolor executives Jerome Kollar and Ameryn Seibold, were charged with conspiracy, bank fraud and running a continuing financial crimes enterprise, according to the indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Kollar and Seibold have pleaded guilty to fraud and are cooperating with the government, according to prosecutors.
“CEO Daniel Chu was the leader of an elaborate scheme to defraud creditors of Tricolor,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement announcing the indictment. “At his direction, Tricolor repeatedly lied to banks and other credit providers, including by falsifying auto-loan data and ‘double pledging’ collateral. Fraud became an integral component of Tricolor’s business strategy.”
“The resulting billion-dollar collapse harmed banks, investors, employees and customers,” Clayton said.
Tricolor Holdings is a provider of subprime auto loans. The company also operates a chain of used car dealerships across the Southwest. It specializes in loans to low-credit and no-credit buyers, often issuing them without a credit check, the indictment said.
The defendants “engaged in a series of frauds directed at each of Tricolor’s lenders,” the indictment said. They allegedly double-pledged the same collateral to multiple lenders, allowing Tricolor to borrow against the same assets, at the same time, repeatedly, according to the indictment, and also “manipulated loan date to make ineligible, delinquent loans appear current and compliant with lender requirements.”
To cover their tracks, the defendants simply fabricated records, including fake customer payments, according to the indictment. Federal prosecutors said this fraudulent activity became Tricolor’s “routine manner of business.”
When Tricolor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September, its lenders – which included JPMorgan Chase, Fifth Third Bancorp and Barclays – sustained multi-million-dollar losses, prosecutors said.
Chu, 62, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the first count of the four with which he’s charged, Continuing Financial Crimes Enterprise. The remaining defendants face sentences of between five and 30 years in prison.
Purchased Powerball tickets ((Photo by Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A $1.25 billion Powerball jackpot prize is up for grabs Wednesday night, with a cash value of $572.1 million, after no winners were selected Monday.
This is the game’s sixth largest prize ever, according to Powerball. The largest prize ever was $2.04 billion won on Nov. 7, 2022.
The Powerball jackpot last rolled Monday night, when no ticket matched the five white balls — 23, 35, 59, 63, 68 — and red Powerball 2.
The Powerball jackpot was last hit on Sept. 6 by two tickets in Missouri and Texas that split a $1.787 billion prize. There have been 43 consecutive drawings with no jackpot wins.
If a player wins on Wednesday night, they will have the choice between annual payments worth an estimated $1.25 billion or an immediate $572.1 million lump sum payment.
According to Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
The drawing will be held just before 11 p.m. ET in the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.
(NEW YORK) — When Alyssa Burkett arrived at her Texas workplace one fall morning in 2020, the 24-year-old mother of one didn’t know a deadly plan against her was already unfolding.
On the morning of Oct. 2 that year, Burkett pulled into the parking lot of the Greentree Apartments in Carrollton, where she worked as an assistant office manager, right before tragedy struck.
A new “20/20” episode, “Ride or Die,” airing Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, examines the case.
You can also get more behind-the-scenes of each week’s episode by listening to “20/20: The After Show” weekly series right on your 20/20 podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by “20/20” co-anchor Deborah Roberts.
According to authorities, a black Ford Expedition pulled up next to her, and the darkly dressed driver shot her through her car window. Miraculously, Burkett managed to get out of, but as she tried to escape into her office, the assailant stabbed and slashed her 44 times.
Carrollton Police Detective Jeremy Chevallier, who responded to the crime, told “20/20” that the scene was extremely disturbing.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 33 years,” he said. “When I arrived, it was the most brutal scene I think I’d ever been to.”
Given the violent nature of the crime, investigators believed it could have been a crime of passion.
Burkett had been engaged in a custody battle with Andrew Beard over their 1-year-old daughter Willow. Beard, who was 10 years older than Burkett and worked as a power tools salesman, had initially met her online, according to investigators.
The day after the killing, while canvassing a neighborhood near Beard’s home, police noticed a vehicle consistent with the one driven by Burkett’s assailant. Upon searching the car, they found a hole drilled into the side of the car that could have been a gun port alongside dark colored makeup and a fake beard, officials said.
Beard soon surrendered himself to the Carrollton Police Department, and he eventually faced federal charges and pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, using a dangerous weapon resulting in death and discharging a firearm in Burkett’s death. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison in May 2023.
However, Beard claimed to authorities that his fiancée Holly Elkins, whom he started dating in 2020, was actually the one who masterminded Burkett’s killing.
Beard pointed authorities to texts between him and Elkins where she said “I need to know you’re my ride or die” and “I’m not coming home unless I know you did this.”
In July 2023, investigators believed that they had collected enough evidence to charge Elkins. She was coming back from a trip in the Dominican Republic when police arrested her at the airport in Miami.
At her trial, Elkins pleaded not guilty and argued that it wasn’t her who committed the crime or installed trackers on Burkett’s vehicle as authorities alleged. Her attorneys also rejected the notion that she was the “mastermind” behind the killing.
She was convicted of conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and given two consecutive life sentences.
In December 2025, Elkins had her conviction on the firearm charge overturned on appeal, reducing her sentence to life without parole.
In an exclusive new interview with “20/20,” Beard said that his biggest regret was letting down his daughter.
“My message to my daughter is simply this: Willow, my sweet baby girl. You instantly became our world. I’m sorry for letting you down the way I did, honey,” he said. “Maybe one day you can forgive me for that … I love you with every inch of my heart. I truly do.”
Beard has not seen or had any contact with his daughter since he was arrested. Teresa Collard, Burkett’s mother, adopted Willow, whom she told “20/20” reminds her of her late daughter.
“They are a spitting image of each other. I mean, even the way Willow walks … Willow turns around and walks off and I see Alyssa walking off,” Collard said.
Men work in construction in Manhattan on December 16, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The federal government released two major economic reports this week, easing a backlog of data pent up by the 43-day government shutdown.
The data flashed some warning signs, showing the unemployment rate had ticked up to its highest level in four years and retail sales had stalled at the outset of the holiday season, some analysts told ABC News. Even so, the reports offered bright spots and elicited a dose of skepticism about numbers released after a weeks-long delay, analysts added.
The latest snapshot of the economy arrives at a wobbly period, landing amid a slowdown of hiring alongside an uptick of inflation.
The jobs report on Tuesday “paints a sobering picture of a job market that may officially be turning frigid after a prolonged cooling period,” Laura Ullrich, director of economic research in North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told ABC News in a statement.
Even so, Ullrich acknowledged, “the incomplete and unconventional jobs report may always need an asterisk attached to it.”
Mark Blyth, professor of political economy at Brown University, echoed that view, saying the fresh numbers should be taken with more than a few grains of salt.
“Eventually you’re just left with salt,” Blyth told ABC News.
The U.S. added 64,000 jobs in November, which marked a significant decline from 119,000 jobs added in September, the most recent month for which complete data is available, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September. Unemployment remains low by historical standards but has inched up to its highest level since 2021.
Partial data for October — limited by the government shutdown — showed a staggering loss of 105,000 jobs that month, though the decline owed largely to employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer by the federal government earlier this year.
“The October payrolls figure is jarring,” Elyse Ausenbaugh, head of investment strategy at JP Morgan Wealth Management, told ABC News in a statement.
A retail sales report on Tuesday also sounded a cautionary note about consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Retail sales were left unchanged in October from September, meaning performance remained flat despite the ramp up of the holiday season, U.S. Census Bureau data showed.
“October was supposed to be the big holiday shopping kickoff,” Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, told ABC News. “About half of holiday shoppers planned to begin making purchases before the end of October, but consumer pullbacks elsewhere left October retail sales right where they were in September.”
“Retail sales seem to be losing momentum at a crucial time of year,” Rossman added.
To be sure, the fresh data offered up some positive signs. As in previous months, the health care sector stood out as a robust source of hiring in November, adding 46,000 jobs, the BLS said. The construction and social assistance industries also contributed to the uptick in hiring.
Unemployment ticked up due to a larger number of people searching for work and in turn counting toward the tabulation, rather than a rise in the count of people out of work altogether, the Royal Bank of Canada economics team told ABC News in a statement.
On Tuesday, the White House touted continued growth in the labor market.
“The strong jobs report shows how President Trump is fixing the damage caused by Joe Biden and creating a strong, America First economy in record time. Since President Trump took office, 100% of the job growth has come in the private sector and among native-born Americans — exactly where it should be,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Retail sales, meanwhile, demonstrated some areas of strength. Core retail sales, which strips out volatile items like auto fuel, exceeded economists’ expectations, Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, told ABC News in a statement.
“Even if October’s retail sales data is dated, it reinforces a central theme for investors and the Fed: The resilience of US consumers,” Kenwell added.
The fresh jobs data arrived less than a week after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point in an effort to boost the sluggish labor market. The move amounted to the third rate cut this year, bringing the Fed’s benchmark rate to a level between 3.5% and 3.75%.
Interest rates have dropped significantly from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell touted the rate cut as an effort to improve the labor market, but he suggested the central bank may be cautious about further rate reductions.
“We’re well-positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves,” Powell said.
Actor Matthew Perry of the television show ‘The Kennedys – After Camelot’ speaks onstage during the REELZChannel portion of the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Hotel on January 13, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — The second of two doctors who were convicted in connection with Matthew Perry’s ketamine death was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months of home confinement for his role in a conspiracy to illegally distribute ketamine to the “Friends” actor.
Mark Chavez is one of five people charged and convicted in connection with Perry’s 2023 overdose death. He pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, admitting to selling fraudulently obtained ketamine to another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, that was then sold to Perry in the weeks before the actor died from an overdose.
The two doctors did not provide the ketamine that ultimately killed Perry, who was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023 at the age of 54. Though federal prosecutors said they knew that the actor had a history of substance abuse and that the drug would be administered without medical supervision.
Chavez’s sentence also includes three years of supervised release and 300 hours of community service.
“Mr. Chavez accepted responsibility at the earliest stage and has never minimized his mistake,” one of his attorneys, Matthew Binninger, said in a statement following the sentencing.
Zach Brooks, another attorney for Chavez, said the case “reflects a lapse in judgment during a narrow and isolated time.”
“He has accepted responsibility without hesitation, and he hopes today’s sentence will allow him to move forward with humility and a renewed commitment to serving others in whatever ways he can,” Brooks said in a statement.
Chavez faced up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.
The government asked for a sentence of six months home confinement that included a two-year term of supervised release as well as at least 300 hours of community service. Prosecutors said Chavez, a former operator of a ketamine clinic, provided Plasencia with vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges that had been obtained by submitting a fraudulent prescription in the name of a patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent.
“As the Drug Enforcement Administration and Medical Board investigators closed in on defendant’s illegal ketamine sales, defendant initially lied and tried to evade responsibility,” the government said in a filing ahead of sentencing. “To defendant’s credit, however, his story continued, and became one of accountability.”
The government said that once confronted with his criminal acts, Chavez “expediently accepted responsibility and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.”
Chavez’s defense attorneys asked for three years of supervised release, arguing in a filing ahead of sentencing that his conduct was “limited and peripheral” and “far removed from the tragic events of October 28, 2023.”
They noted that Chavez had never met Perry, entered his home or administered medication to him, and that he did not supply the ketamine that caused his death. They also said he “accepted responsibility early in this case and signed a plea agreement prior to any indictment, agreed to cooperate, and voluntarily surrendered his medical license even before his detention hearing.”
“The consequences Mr. Chavez has already faced are significant,” his attorneys wrote. “Once a practicing emergency room physician, he lost his profession, suffered public disgrace, and now earns a living as an Uber driver. He has remained compliant with all terms of pretrial supervision and continues to demonstrate sincere regret for his actions.”
Both Chavez and Plasencia gave up their medical licenses after pleading guilty.
According to Plasencia’s plea agreement, one of his patients introduced him to Perry on Sept. 30, 2023, with the unidentified patient referring to the actor as a “‘high profile person’ who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay ‘cash and lots of thousands’ for ketamine treatment,'” according to Plasencia’s plea agreement.
Plasencia contacted his mentor, Chavez, to discuss Perry’s request for ketamine and purchased vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges from him, according to the agreement.
In discussing how much to charge Perry, Plasencia said in text messages to Chavez, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out,” prosecutors said.
Plasencia admitted to distributing 20 vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges and syringes to Perry and the actor’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, between Sept. 30, 2023, and Oct. 12, 2023.
Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry at the actor’s home on several occasions and left vials and lozenges with Iwamasa to administer, according to the plea agreement.
Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison earlier this month.
Iwamasa admitted in court documents to administering the ketamine on the day that Perry died, pleading guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2026, and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Two other defendants in the case — Erik Fleming and Jasveen Sangha — admitted to distributing the ketamine that killed Perry.
Prosecutors said Sangha worked with Fleming to distribute ketamine to Perry, and that in October 2023, they sold the actor 51 vials of ketamine, which were provided to Iwamasa.
Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2026, and faces up to 25 years in prison.
Sangha, allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” pleaded guilty in September to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 25, 2026, and faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
