Judge explains Eric Kay's harsh sentence in Tyler Skaggs case

Tyler Skaggs died in 2019 at the age of 27. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Judge explains why he gave Eric Kay harsh sentence for death of Tyler Skaggs

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 10/11/22

Former Los Angeles Angels employee Eric Kay was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 years in federal prison for providing counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that led to the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs. The 22-year prison sentence exceeded the 20-year mandatory minimum for the crime.

The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means, explained in his ruling why he added on two years.

Means said that emails and phone calls shared by Kay following his sentencing in February indicated the former Angels employee was not remorseful for his actions.

In one phone call Kay made to his mother, the former Angels communications official said of Skaggs, “He’s dead, so f— him is how I feel about it.”

In one recorded call between Kay and his mother from earlier this year that was played in court, Kay said of Skaggs: "He's dead, so f— him is how I feel about it."

— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) October 11, 2022

In other intercepted communications while in prison, Kay ripped the jury. Kay also called Skaggs a “piece of s—.”

According to prosecutors, Kay referred to Skaggs as a "piece of s—" during one of the recorded calls with his mother.

— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) October 11, 2022

As if that weren’t enough, Kay called Skaggs’ family “white trash” and said the family was going to make more off Skaggs dead than alive.

Kay, 48, had worked for the Angels since 1996. He was arrested and charged in 2020. Skaggs died in 2019 after overdosing from the drugs provided to him by Kay.

Skaggs was drafted by the Angels in 2009 and pitched for them from 2014 until his death while on a road trip with the team in 2019.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: