Eric Kay, the former communications director for the Los Angeles Angels, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his involvement in Tyler Skaggs‘ fatal overdose.
In 2019, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs was found unresponsive in his hotel room with traces of ethanol, fentanyl, and oxycodone in his system. Skaggs, who was only 27 at the time of his death, is believed to have taken oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, which were distributed by the former Angeles employee.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Chad Meacham, announced this Tuesday that Kay has been convicted for distributing a controlled substance resulting in death. “According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Kay distributed the pills that killed Mr. Skaggs,” the U.S. Attorney said in a released statement.
The release included the information, “a search of Mr. Skaggs’s phone revealed text messages from June 30 suggesting that he had asked Mr. Kay to stop by his room with pills late that evening.”
“We are very grateful to everyone who worked so hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay,” the Skaggs family shared, following the communications director’s conviction. “Today’s sentencing isn’t about the number of years the defendant received. The real issue, in this case, is holding accountable the people who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl.”
The Drug Enforcement Agency speaks out against Eric Kay
Upon investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency in Dallas, the organization proved that the ex-Angels employee distributed multiple pills to other players on the Angels, for which he was not remorseful for his actions. Skaggs’ teammates testified in court that Kay provided them with oxycodone pills. “They further testified that he was the only source of these pills and would conduct transactions in the Angels Stadium,” the District Attorney shared.
Additionally, after the ex-employee was sentenced to 22 years, the DEA took to the time to discuss the harm of distributing illicit drugs laced with fentanyl.
“Today’s sentencing of Eric Kay will not ease the suffering that the Skaggs’ family have experienced since 2019,” Special Agent Eduardo A. Chavez relayed. “What the guilty verdict and sentencing proves is even if you sell only a small number of pills and one of those pills causes the death of an individual, you will be held responsible and sentenced to the fullest extent allowed by our judicial system
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