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Eric Kay sentenced to 22 years in Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs’ overdose death : NPR


Former Los Angeles Angels employee Eric Kay exits federal court on February 15, in Fort Worth, Texas. Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on Tuesday for providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs with the drugs that led to his death.

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Former Los Angeles Angels employee Eric Kay exits federal court on February 15, in Fort Worth, Texas. Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on Tuesday for providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs with the drugs that led to his death.

LM Otero / AP

FORT WORTH, Texas – A former Los Angeles Angels employee was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday for providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in Texas.

Eric Kay, wearing an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs and leg shackles, did not react as U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means read out his sentence. Kay faces at least 20 years in prison on either count.

There was no response from Skaggs’ widow and mother or members of Kay’s family, including one of his sons, who read the statement on his behalf prior to sentencing. A bailiff warned observers that they would be disqualified from court for any conduct.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Kay, 48, made insulting comments to Skaggs, his family, prosecutors and the jury in subsequent phone calls and emails. he was sentenced in February.

There was emotional testimony from both sides in federal court in Fort Worth, about 15 miles from where the Angels were supposed to open the four-game series against the Texas Rangers on July 1, 2019. , the day Skaggs was found dead in a hotel room in suburban Dallas.

Kay was found guilty of each drug distribution leading to death and drug conspiracy. Means asked Kay to serve his time in his home state of California. He has been in jail in Fort Worth since his conviction.

A coroner’s report said Skaggs, 27, choked to death from vomiting and a toxic mixture of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone in his system.

The trial included testimony from five major league players, who said they received oxycodone drugs from Kay at various times from 2017-19, the years Kay was accused of taking the drugs and giving them to him. the players at Angel Stadium. Kay also used drugs herself, according to testimony and court documents.

After revealing the verdict, Means said he has dreaded this day since the beginning of the case because the 20-year minimum could be considered too harsh for the crime.

In granting the higher sentence, the judge cited Kay’s insulting comments about Skaggs .

Means said he added two years because of Kay’s comments to his family during prison conversations after his conviction.

The judge interrupted Kay to quote the former public relations officer as saying in one of those exchanges, “I’m here for Tyler Skaggs. Well, he’s dead. So (definitively) him .”

“It’s disgusting,” Kay replied. “I don’t know why I said that. I was mad at the world.”

Means was skeptical, even speaking at one point after stating that he might become a target for Kay’s anger.

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs throws during the first inning of a game against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim, California, on May 25, 2019.

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Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs throws during the first inning of a game against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim, California, on May 25, 2019.

Mark J. Terrill / AP

The judge found Kay displayed “callousness, unwillingness to accept responsibility and even remorse for something she did.”

“Tyler Skaggs is not a perfect person,” the judge said. “But he paid the ultimate price for it.”

Kay sobbed while one of his three sons spoke to the judge from the podium to plead for clemency. Carli Skaggs, the widow, tried to hold back her tears the same way she did when testifying in court.

“I’m not just grieving the loss of my husband,” she said. “I grieve for my own loss.”

Defense attorney Cody Cofer, who took over after two lawyers in Kay’s trial were removed, sought an offer that would allow Means to consider a sentence below the 20-year minimum. It was rejected.

“We are grateful to everyone who worked hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay,” the Skaggs family said in a statement. “Today’s sentence has nothing to do with the number of years the defendant received. The real issue in this case is to blame those who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl.”

Kay acted as the team’s public relations officer on numerous road trips, and the trip to Texas was his first since returning from rehab. Kay was laid off shortly after Skaggs’ death and never returned to the team. He did not testify in his trial.

The government argued at trial that Kay was the only person who could have given Skaggs the drug that led to his death, that the delivery was in Texas and that fentanyl was the cause of death. Prosecutors say Kay gave Skaggs fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

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