Former Angels employee Eric Kay charged with distributing fentanyl in Skaggs case
Former Angels employee
Eric Kay has been charged by federal authorities in Texas with distributing fentanyl in connection with the overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, according to court documents reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.
An affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Kay filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth said the longtime member of the Angels’ media relations department and Skaggs had a “history of narcotic transactions” and that Kay would “distribute these pills to (Skaggs) and others in their place of employment and while they were working.”
Kay voluntarily surrendered to authorities Friday, per court records. The complaint, filed last week, was unsealed Friday, as well.
Skaggs, 27, died in his Southlake, Texas, hotel room July 1, 2019, before the Angels were to play the Texas Rangers. He was discovered on his bed, fully clothed, with no signs of trauma.
A toxicology report by the Tarrant County medical examiner found the opioids fentanyl and oxycodone in his system. The medical examiner listed the cause of death as “alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication with terminal aspiration of gastric contents,” meaning he choked on his vomit.
“It was later determined that but for the fentanyl in (Skaggs’) system, (he) would not have died,” the affidavit said.
In a statement Friday in response to the charge, the
Angels said: “We learned that there was unacceptable behavior inconsistent with our code of conduct, and we took steps to address it. Our investigation also confirmed that no one in management was aware, or informed, of any employee providing opioids to any player, nor that Tyler was using opioids.”
Kay initially told authorities he last saw Skaggs when they checked into the hotel and he wasn’t sure if the pitcher used drugs other than marijuana.
But investigators obtained text messages between Kay and Skaggs from the afternoon before the overdose.
“Hoe (sic) many?” Kay wrote at 2:35 p.m. on June 30, 2019.
“Just a few like 5,” Skaggs responded.
“Word,” Kay said.
“Don’t need many,” Skaggs replied.
The pitcher arranged for Kay to drop by his room that night.
“Based on my training and experience,” the affidavit said, “I believe (Skaggs) and Kay were discussing drugs, specifically in this case, blue 30 milligram oxycodone pills.”
Kay later told a third party that he did, in fact, visit Skaggs’ hotel room that night after receiving the text messages.
The affidavit said investigators, including an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, learned that several unnamed individuals were aware Kay provided pills to Skaggs, the oxycodone pills they referred to as “blues” and “blue boys.”
Kay distributed the drugs, the affidavit alleged, “beginning in or before 2017.” He worked for the Angels for 24 years before departing after Skaggs’ death.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times in June, Skaggs’ widow said she was stunned that drugs were involved in her husband’s death.
“He didn’t exhibit any behaviors of someone who was abusing or addicted to drugs,” Carli Skaggs said.
Kay said in a statement issued through his attorney in October that he was cooperating with the federal investigation into Skaggs’ death because it was “the right thing to do” and “it’s time for everybody to stand up and take responsibility for their respective roles.”
Kay’s attorney, Michael Molfetta of Newport
Beach, Calif., described Skaggs last year as “an addict who overdosed.”
“I just know that attempts to blame any one person for another person’s addiction are extremely naive,” Molfetta said. “I think any attempts to blame Eric Kay for what happened are shortsighted and misguided. When all the facts come out, I think that what happened is a tragedy. What happened is very sad on many levels. But to say it’s any one person’s fault is not right.”
At least six Angels players, including current pitchers Andrew Heaney and Noe Ramirez and former pitchers Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill, were questioned by federal agents about the case last fall.
The agents hoped the players would shed light on whether the use of opiates was prevalent among their teammates. Agents also asked players if they ever saw others using illegal narcotics on team flights and if they knew how Skaggs acquired the drugs.
Attorneys have said that tens of millions of dollars could be at stake in a potential wrongfuldeath lawsuit if attorneys can prove a party besides Skaggs might be at least partially responsible for his death.
Skaggs was under contract for $3.7 million in 2019 and would have had one more year of arbitration before becoming a free agent in 2021. He was 7-7 with a 4.29 ERA in 15 starts in 2019 and had a career record of 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 starts.