A former Angels employee facing trial in connection with the 2019 fatal overdose of pitcher Tyler Skaggs may have also been running a drug operation within the organization and using Skaggs as a middleman.
That it was the feds are alleging that ex-Angels employee Eric Kay was also distributing illegal drugs to at least five other Major League players, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors.
More from the report:
“The evidence that traces the procurement of the fentanyl laced pills to Angel Stadium, is just one piece of a larger case against Kay by federal authorities. Court documents place tremendous emphasis on Kay’s relationship with the team & use of workplace facilities to operate his alleged drug distribution network. Several text exchanges with alleged drug dealers indicate Kay had the drugs delivered to Angel Stadium on more than one occasion, according to prosecutors.
In one such exchange, Kay allegedly offers to leave tickets to an Angels game for a dealer if he will bring drugs to the Stadium, saying “I just can’t leave work tonight.”
Speaking with another alleged dealer, Kay says “U have a son? Could hook him with a signed Trout ball for a trade if U want?” The alleged dealer replies, “We dodger fans my boi lol.”
The government also found emails on Kay’s work account, alleging they are between Kay and his drug suppliers. Court documents claim, “Kay would use his work time and his work location, when he was in proximity to the players, to obtain controlled substances… he would communicate with individuals during the workday and even ask them to deliver oxycodone pills to Angel Stadium.” The government says Kay planned and intended to obtain the pills “while at Angel Stadium,” calling it part of his modus operandi or pattern of criminal behavior.”
It continues:
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“The government’s case extends to a larger theory that Kay was running a drug distribution operation within the Angels organization, allegedly contacting at least nine different drug suppliers to try to obtain pills for various Angels players, often using Skaggs as a middleman, according to government documents. The government accuses Kay of distributing oxycodone to several Angels players beginning as early as 2017, and promises that at least five major league baseball players will take the stand to testify against him. A civil attorney representing the Skaggs family said in court documents that Kay may have been providing illegal opioids to at least six Angels players.
The government says text messages will prove that Kay often used conversations with Skaggs to coordinate the distribution of oxycodone pills to other players. Prosecutors claims some of the players received two to three pills while others would ask for up to 20, calling Kay the “singular source” to players within the organization for oxycodone pills.”
Autopsy reports show that Skaggs choked on his vomit and had a toxic mix of alcohol and the painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his system.
The family of Tyler Skaggs filed two lawsuits against the team, the owner’s business and two former employees alleging wrongful death due to negligence and negligent hiring and supervision. The suits allege that the Angels should have known an employee, Eric Kay, was providing drugs to Skaggs and five other players, and that the team’s inaction contributed to Skaggs’ death.
None of the other players have been named, but the filing states that Kay was providing “controlled substances, including oxycodone,” to Angels players since 2017, the Times reported, saying all five are prepared to testify that Kay was the “singular source” who supplied oxycodone to the players in amounts of “two to three pills while others would ask for up to 20 pills,” according to the Times.
