The former Los Angeles Angels employee who supplied the medications that ultimately killed Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019 was given a 22-year jail sentence on drug charges on Tuesday.
Upon his conviction in February for distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled narcotics, former Angels communications director Eric Prescott Kay faced a sentence of twenty years to life in prison.
Skaggs, a 27-year-old pitcher, was found dead in a Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019, the night before his club was scheduled to face the Texas Rangers. He had been accused of giving the substances that caused Skaggs’ death. Prosecutors presented emails and phone calls from Kay’s time in jail on Tuesday, in which he insulted Skaggs, his family, and the jury.
“I hope people realize what a piece of s*** he is,” he told his mother in a recorded jailhouse call. “Well, he’s dead, so f*** ‘em.”
The overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs has resulted in the indictment of a former Los Angeles Angels official. Kay also labelled the Skaggs family “dumb” and “white trash” and the jury condemned him as “fat, sloppy, toothless, and unemployed.” In court, he apologised for his remarks, saying he had been “selfish,” frustrated with life, and acting out.
“Tyler Skaggs was a sweetheart of a man,” Kay said, calling him “kind.”
Because of Kay’s degrading remarks, Judge Terry R. Means said he sentenced her to 22 years in prison, rather than the mandatory minimum of 20.
“What I see coming from your mouth … was not just vitriol but a callousness and a refusal to accept responsibility or even be remorseful for something you caused,” Means said.
In a statement, Kay’s lawyer argued that his client deserved at least 20 years in prison.
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Tyler Skaggs Cause Of Death: What Happened At Trial?
The pills that killed Mr Skaggs were distributed, according to the evidence presented in court. The investigation into the death of 27-year-old Mr. Skaggs at the Southlake Town Square Hilton began on July 1, 2019, when the Southlake Police Department received a 911 call reporting the death.
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After further investigation, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office concluded that Mr. Skaggs died from a toxic combination of ethanol, fentanyl, and oxycodone. A number of pills, including a single blue pill, marked M/30, were found in Mr. Skaggs’ hotel room. The pill tested positive for fentanyl, a potent synthetic narcotic, despite its outward appearance of being an oxycodone tablet of 30 milligrams.
Dr. Hail: “My conclusion was that Tyler Skaggs died from fentanyl, and perhaps a slight contributor of oxycodone, but the ‘but/for’ cause of death is fentanyl.”
Says the autopsy was wrong because ME didn’t have all the information needed.
— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) February 15, 2022
Mr Kay initially told police he didn’t know if Mr Skaggs used drugs or not. He stated that he had last seen Mr. Skaggs on June 30 at the hotel’s front desk. A search of Mr. Skaggs’s phone, however, turned up text messages from June 30 that suggested he had asked Mr. Kay to drop by his room later that evening with tablets.
PLAYER’S MYSTERY DEATH: Tyler Skaggs, a 27-year-old LA Angels pitcher who played Saturday, was found dead in his hotel room, with the cause of death under investigation and tonight’s game postponed; police do not suspect foul play.
Contrary to his statement to police on the day Mr Skaggs’ body was found, Mr Kay later revealed to a coworker that he had been in Mr Skaggs’ room the night he was murdered. D.E.A. agents found evidence that suggested Mr. Kay regularly distributed blue M/30 pills (nicknamed “blue boys”) to Mr. Skaggs and others at the stadium where they worked.
At trial, other ex-Angels players testified that Eric Kay also supplied them with blue 30mg oxycodone tablets, including Matt Harvey, C.J. Cron, Mike Morin, and Cameron Bedrosian. They also testified that he was the only dealer in the Angels Stadium area and that he sold the pills there.
Prosecutors on Tuesday presented emails and phone calls from Mr Kay’s time in jail as evidence of the seriousness of his crime and his lack of remorse.
