Ex-Angels staffer Eric Kay sentenced to 22 years for drug distribution related to death of Tyler Skaggs

Former Angels communications director Eric Kay has been sentenced to 22 years in prison after being convicted of drug distribution resulting in the death of Halos pitcher Tyler Skaggs, Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Washington Post was among those to report. Terry Means, a judge in the Northern District of Texas, handed down the sentence.

Kay was convicted by a Fort Worth jury in February of supplying Skaggs with fentanyl that led to his death in July 2019. The Angels were playing a road series against the Rangers at the time.

At the trial, a number of former Halos players testified they’d received opiates from Kay during their time playing in Anaheim. Matt Harvey, who admitted on the witness stand that he’d also supplied Skaggs with a controlled substance, was hit with a 60-game suspension by MLB in May for violating the joint drug agreement. Harvey was granted immunity from criminal prosecution for his testimony, and the trial jury found beyond a reasonable doubt the drugs supplied by Kay were those that caused Skaggs’ death.

The conviction carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. Judge Means announced at the sentencing hearing he went above that minimum after hearing disparaging remarks Kay had made about Skaggs (which are excerpted in the Post’s report) while in prison. Kay’s mother tells Garcia-Roberts his family plans to appeal the conviction.