Tyler Skaggs Death: Former Angels Exec Eric Kay Convicted of “Intentionally” Giving Fentanyl to Skaggs
(Photo : Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Former L.A. Angels communications director Eric Prescott Kay has been found guilty Thursday of distributing a fentanyl-laced opioid to Tyler Skaggs, which resulted in the 2019 overdose death of the pitcher.
Skaggs was 27 and in his sixth season with the Angels when he died in a hotel in Southlake, Texas, on July 1, 2019, just before the team was scheduled to play the Texas Rangers.
In U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, a jury of 10 women and two men deliberated for less than three hours before returning with guilty verdicts on charges that Kay possessed and distributed a controlled substance and another accusing him of "knowingly and intentionally" giving fentanyl to Skaggs on a road trip to Texas.
According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office, Skaggs died by choking on vomit after using drugs and alcohol. A toxicology report determined high levels of alcohol and opioids, including fentanyl, oxycodone, and oxymorphone were found in his system.
Kay faces a mandatory minimum sentencing of 20 years and a maximum sentence of life in jail. Judge Terry Means set sentencing for June 28, according to USA Today.
Skaggs' Teammates Revealed Receiving Opioids From Eric Kay
The Angels communications director's eight-day trial included testimony from eight of Skaggs's Angels teammates, five of whom indicated they obtained opioids from Kay.
Kay had repeated stints in rehab for his addiction to the non-prescription pills.
According to court records, a search of Skaggs's phone revealed a series of text messages that Kay provided opioids to Skaggs over several years, and that they discussed the drugs in the hours leading to the pitcher's death, CNN reported.
When the defense was able to prove that Skaggs had previously acquired drugs in the past, the trial appeared to be tilting in Kay's favor. Despite this, the jury had little apparent hesitation in returning guilty verdicts.
Kay, the Angels, and Skaggs's former supervisor, Tim Mead, still face a pair of "wrongful-death lawsuits" filed by Skaggs's parents and his widow, Carli.
Skaggs's mother, Debbie Hetman, testified earlier in the trial that she was aware of her son's "issue" with Percocet in 2013, and that doctors agreed not to prescribe opioids to him after he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament in 2014.
Skaggs, on the other hand, found a willing supplier in Kay and notified his teammates that they could get pills from him as well. It later revealed in the text messages that Kay visited Skaggs's hotel room that evening, and the next afternoon, Skaggs was discovered dead in his room.
If It Hadn't Been For The Fentanyl, Skaggs "Wouldn't Have Died" - DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration's investigation also found that Kay regularly dealt pills of fentanyl, dubbed "blue boys" for their blue coloring, to Skaggs and others in the Angels at the stadium where they worked.
The medical examiner ruled that Skaggs "would not have died" if it had not been for the fentanyl in his system, according to DEA special agent Geoffrey Lindenberg.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 100 times stronger than heroin, is increasingly connected to overdose deaths when drug users unknowingly take it after buying what they think are heroin or prescription pills.
In 2009, Skaggs was a first-round draft pick. He made his major league debut two years later as a 21-year-old after being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010.
He was re-acquired by the Angels before the 2014 season, and his career record was 28-38. He threw his final pitch two days before his death.
After the verdict was announced, Angels' president John Carpino released a statement that the players' testimony was "incredibly difficult" for the organization to hear and that it serves as a reminder that "too often drug use and addiction are hidden away."
From the moment the organization learned about Tyler's death, according to Carpino, their focus has been to completely comprehend the circumstances that led to the tragedy.
Carpino also commended Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association for taking the vital step of updating their drug policies to make it easier for players who are addicted to opioids to receive help.
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Written by: Jess Smith
WATCH: Former Angels Employee Eric Kay Convicted In Tyler Skaggs' Overdose Death - from CBS Los Angeles