Ex-Angels Official Faces Drug Charge Linked to Tyler Skaggs' Overdose Death

Former Los Angeles Angels official Eric Kay has been charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in connection with the overdose death of Angels' pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019.

The drug charge on Kay was confirmed by the US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas on Friday. 

According to CNN, Skaggs died at age 27 on July 2019, in a hotel in Texas, while the Angels were set to play against the Texas Rangers. He died by choking on vomit after using drugs and alcohol, said the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Officer.

Kay wasn't immediately given a drug charge since he first denied knowing that Skaggs used drugs. He also told investigators that he last saw Skaggs upon checking into the hotel on June 30, the USA Today reported.

Toxicology results said there were high levels of opioids in his system, including fentanyl, oxycodone and oxymorphone.

Fentanyl and oxycodon are opioids that can be prescribed legally, but most often they are made and given to people outside legal means. Fentanyl is considered to be the most dangerous of opioids as it has a potency of 30 to 50 times higher than morphine.

Kay's attorney, Michael Molfetta said that his client went all the way from California to Texas to surrender himself to the proper authorities.

Molfetta added that his client "will patiently wait for his opportunity to make his story known."

"The court room is the best and only place to litigate this matter," Molfetta said, emphasizing that Kay's defense team is working diligently "to bring the truth to light."

Not the same pills

According to a 2019 ESPN report, Kay told the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that he did supply Skaggs with opioid pills on some occasions. He did give Skaggs some pills "a day or two before" the Angels left for the Texas matchup.

Kay also thinks the pills he obtained for the Angels pitcher is different from the ones Skaggs took the day he died. According to Kay, the baseball player does not take the pills immediately after getting them from him.

Skaggs' body was found with a blue pill, five pink pills and "several white pills" that were later on determined to be harmless anti-inflammatory drugs, as said by the complaint.

Sports Illustrated said the blue pill was a black-market oxycodone pill that also contained fentanyl and the pink pills did not contain fentanyl.

According to U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox, many who overdose on fentanyl will never even be aware they took it.

Kay said the player texted him that day, asking for more oxycodone. But he was not able to meet Skaggs' request.

Some text messages between Kay and Skaggs were revealed in the DEA complaint last week to support this claim. That day, Kay even asked Skaggs how many pills he was looking for, to which Skaggs replied: "Just a few like 5 ... Don't need many"

Investigators said the two also exchanged messages later again at around midnight. In that conversation, Skaggs gave Kay his room number.

Kay said he did come by Skaggs' room, but did not take any drugs with him that night.

After the team learned about Kay's involvement in Skaggs' case, he was placed on leave and he is no longer a part of the team.

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