Eric Kay, a former Los Angeles Angels employee, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on Tuesday for supplying drugs to pitcher Tyler Skaggs that led to his death in Texas.
Kay, 48, who was sentenced by US District Judge Terry R. Means in Fort Worth, has faced at least 20 years in prison. after being sentenced in February conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury.
According to the Associated Press, Kay, wearing an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs and leg shackles, did not react when the judge read out her sentence. There was also no apparent reaction from Skaggs’ widow and his mother or members of Kay’s family.
Skaggs’ family released a statement following the sentencing.
“We are grateful to everyone who worked hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay,” the statement said. “Today’s sentence is not about the number of years the defendant received. The real issue in this case is to blame those who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl. It is killing tens of thousands of people every year in our country and destroying families with it.
“We will continue our fight to catch those responsible for allowing Kay to deliver a deadly drug to Tyler. But for their actions, Tyler will still be with us today. “
The trial, which lasted more than two weeks, explored drug use among Major League Baseball players, some of whom, when testifying, admitted to purchasing opioids through Kay. Matt Harvey, a former Mets pitcher who was Skaggs’s teammate with the Angels in 2019, discussed his own cocaine use, as well as his use of opioids. He and others describe Kay as a team employee who is known for his ability to give players the drug they seek, even as he deals with his own addiction.
Skaggs, who many witnesses testified, was addicted to Percocet earlier in his career, allegedly sending teammates to see Kay over the years so Kay could buy them drugs.
Federal prosecutors said Skaggs’ death in his hotel room in July 2019 was because he choked to death from vomiting caused by pills Kay gave him that looked like oxycodone but were actually is fentanyl, a stronger opiate. A medical examiner and several toxicologists testified that it was the fentanyl in Skaggs’ system that led to his death.
