Los Angeles Angels staffer Eric Kay was found guilty Thursday on charges he provided the drugs that killed pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
The Texas jury also found Kay guilty on one count of drug distribution resulting in death and one count of drug conspiracy. He faces up to life in prison.
Skaggs was 27 when he was found dead on July 1, 2019, having choked to death on his own vomit, before the start of what was supposed to be a four-game series against the Texas Rangers.
A coroner’s report found a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone in his system.
Kay, a public relations director for the baseball team, was accused of providing the pitcher with counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl. At the time, Kay had just rejoined the team on the road after a stint in rehab.
The guilty verdict came down after less than three hours of deliberation.
Skaggs’ widow and mother hugged after the verdict was announced. Kay nodded towards family and friends in the courtroom as he removed his jacket and tie and was placed in handcuffs.
The trial in the Northern District of Texas included testimony from five major league baseball pitchers who all said they’d received oxycodone from Kay while they were part of the Angels’ bullpen.
Among them, Matt Harvey, former Mets pitcher and All-Star, acknowledged receiving oxycodone pills from Kay. During the testimony, he also admitted to cocaine use while with the Mets.
Harvey said he testified only because he’d been granted immunity from prosecution.
Former Angels’ pitchers Cam Bedrosian and Blake Parker testified as well, saying Skagg’s death made them stop using oxycodone.
“All of those people were one pill away from dying alone in a hotel room from a drug that Eric Kay gave them,” lead prosecutor Lindsey Beran said in her closing argument.
Reagan Wynn, an attorney for Kay, expressed his disappointment after the trial.
“We thought there were many reasons to doubt the government’s case,” he said. “This is a tragedy all the way around. Eric Kay is getting ready to do, minimum, 20 years in a federal penitentiary and it goes up from there. And Tyler Skaggs is gone.”
Skaggs’ family said the verdict brought them “relief,” in a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times.
“Tyler was the light of our family,” the statement said. “He is gone, and nothing can ever bring him back. We are relieved that justice was served, although today is a painful reminder of the worst day in the life of our family.”
With Post wires
