A jury found Eric Kay guilty of distributing narcotics and causing the death of Tyler Skaggs, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. Skaggs' death was ruled accidental by the former deputy chief of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office in Texas. A series of mistakes were found in several unrelated cases, which led to the loss of his job. Predictably, he stood by his original ruling, but added a caveat that the Fentanyl increased the chance of Skaggs dying. The medical examiner who replaced Krouse testified that Skaggs died of an overdose. What killed Skaggs was the most important question in Kay's trial. The jury sided with the government after a few hours of deliberations. The defense tried to prove that Kay couldn't have been the one who gave Skaggs the pills since he hadn't been in rehab in a long time. In closing arguments, the lead prosecutor argued that Kay was the only one who could have given Skaggs the drugs that led to his death, that he delivered it in Texas, and that it was the cause of Skaggs' death. The defense attorney for Kay said prosecutors couldn't prove that Kay gave Skaggs drugs after the team landed in Texas. Kay was immediately taken into custody and will be sentenced on June 28. I can still drink wine. You will be able to say the same thing once you get hooked on this incredible deal. Did we mention that 6 bottles of wine arrive at your doorstep for $20?
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Kay now faces a minimum of 20 years in prison, as the guilty verdict is not the end of this saga for Kay, the Skaggs family, MLB, or even Skaggs' ex-teammates who testified on the stand this week. The Angels are being sued by the Skaggs family in a civil case. Skaggs and her family filed lawsuits in California and Texas.
The trial led to revelations about the inner workings of the Los Angeles Angels. According to the prosecution, Kay used his access to players as the team's director of communications to serve as their defacto drug dealer. The defense maintained that Skaggs had a variety of ways to purchase drugs.
According to testimony heard over the course of the trial, Skaggs became the supplier for multiple members of the Angels organization, who would often use opioids in the clubhouse and even during games. On Monday, the defense presented a text message from Skaggs requesting pills from teammate Matt Harvey because he wanted to be loose.
Harvey, who testified on Tuesday that Kay supplied him with oxycodone on a number of occasions, said he was a regular cocaine user until he met Skaggs as a member of the Angels. Skaggs introduced him to oxycodone, which he began using, along with Percocet.
Harvey, to whom the government extended immunity in exchange for his testimony, also said he was given what appeared to be a blue, 30-milligram oxycodone pill by Kay the day before Skaggs’ death. After deciding against taking the pill that night, Harvey went home. The following day, Harvey learned of Skaggs’ death and threw out the blue pill in his locker. As a result of his testimony, Harvey may face a 60-day suspension from Major League Baseball.
The investigation by the Angels found that management did not know that Tyler was using drugs nor that any employee provided drugs to any player.
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