Tyler Skaggs.Photo: Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty
A former Los Angeles Angels employee has been sentenced to 22 years for his involvement in the fatal overdose of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019.
Eric Kay, the former communications director for the MLB team was sentenced on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Chad Meacham, announced in a release. He was convicted of the distributing of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Kay’s attorney, Cody Cofer, tells PEOPLE in a statement, “Mr. Kay was sentenced to 22 years–about 2.5 years below the top of the sentencing guidelines. The Government was seeking a sentence at the top of his guidelines. The lowest possible sentence was 20 years. Mr. Kay will immediately file his notice of appeal and continue to fight the allegations. This was a tragic circumstance. Our hearts break for Tyler Skaggs’s family.”
Cofer did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Eric Kay.Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty
Skaggs' family expressed gratitude for the sentencing.
“We are very grateful to everyone who worked so hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay, " said, according to the outlet. “Today’s sentencing isn’t about the number of years the defendant received. The real issue, in this case, is holding accountable the people who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl.”
Kay was convictedin February after evidence proved he gave Skaggs the pills that led to his death in a Dallas-area hotel room. Skaggs was 27.
“According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Kay distributed the pills that killed Mr. Skaggs,” the release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office read.
Police also seized a blue pill that they later confirmed was laced with fentanyl.
When first speaking with police, Kay said he didn’t know Skaggs struggled with drug abuse and claimed he last saw Skaggs when checking into the hotel the day before.
The Drug Enforcement Administration also discovered that Kay allegedly gave the same pills to Skaggs and other players at the stadium, with multiple former Angels players testifying during the trial that Kay gave them oxycodone pills.
“They further testified that he was the only source of these pills and would conduct transactions in the Angels Stadium,” the District Attorney said.
During his sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented Kay’s calls from behind bars, which they say prove he’s not regretful about his actions.
In one call, he spoke about Skaggs and told his mother, “I hope people realize what a piece of s— he is. Well, he’s dead, so f— ‘em.”
RELATED VIDEO: Everything to Know About Baseball Star Tyler Skaggs, 27, Who Was Found Dead in Texas Hotel Room
He also called Skaggs’s family “dumb” and “white trash” as he alleged, “All they see are dollar signs. They may get more money with him dead than he was playing because he sucked.”
He went on to call the jurors “fat, sloppy, toothless, and unemployed.”
“The Skaggs family learned the hard way: One fentanyl pill can kill. That’s why our office is committed to holding to account anyone who deals in illicit opioids, whether they operate in back alleyways or world-class stadiums,” Meacham said after the sentencing. “Mr. Skaggs did not deserve to die this way. No one does. We hope this sentence will bring some comfort to his grieving family.”
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“On behalf of the entire Angels Organization, our compassion goes out to the Skaggs family on this difficult day,” Angels spokesperson said in a statement according toReuters.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
source: people.com
