Ex-Angels employee sentenced to 22 years in prison in Tyler Skaggs overdose death
LA TimesEric Kay, shown in February, was sentenced to prison Tuesday for providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs with the drugs that led to his death in 2019. “He paid the ultimate price for that.” In one call with his mother, Kay called Skaggs a “piece of s—” and said, “Well, he’s dead, so f— ’em.” He called the Skaggs family “dumb” and “white trash” and said of them: “All they see are dollar signs. Errin Martin told the court the words “are the real Eric Kay” and he is “incapable of taking responsibility for his own actions and likely has been for his entire life.” During brief remarks frequently interrupted by deep breaths and sobs, Kay apologized to his family for the “disgrace and embarrassment” he had caused, attributed his crass phone calls and emails to frustration and selfishness, and called Skaggs a “sweetheart” and “so special.” “We had our own darkness to deal with,” Kay added, referring to both men’s opioid use. Geoffrey Lindenberg, the Drug Enforcement Administration special agent who signed the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Kay, wrote, “I believe and Kay were discussing drugs, specifically in this case, blue 30-milligram oxycodone pills.” Lindenberg added: “It was later determined that but for the fentanyl in system, would not have died.” The autopsy found Skaggs died from “alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication” leading to choking on his own vomit. Cofer also referred to the power dynamic Kay faced working in a big-league clubhouse: “Your survival in the organization depends on your ability to keep these stars happy.” The legal fallout from Skaggs’ overdose includes wrongful death lawsuits filed by the pitcher’s family in Texas and California that have been consolidated in Orange County Superior Court.
History of this topic
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