Oct. 16 (UPI) — A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted former Los Angeles Angels employee Eric Kay on two charges related to the 2019 overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
According to the indictment, which was filed Friday morning in a U.S. District Court in Texas, Kay — who told federal agents he provided drugs to Skaggs — is charged with distributing a controlled substance that resulted in Skaggs’ death. Kay also is accused of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl starting in or before 2017.
Skaggs died in July 2019 at the age of 27 after being found unconscious in his Southlake, Texas, hotel room. The Angels were in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for a game against the Texas Rangers.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Skaggs died from an accidental overdose of opioids and alcohol. Tests revealed that Skaggs had oxycodone, ethanol and fentanyl — a painkiller that is significantly stronger than oxycodone — in his system.
Federal authorities arrested Kay on Aug. 7 on a charge of distributing fentanyl, but he had not yet entered a plea. At the time, prosecutors didn’t indicate whether they would charge him in Skaggs’ death.
Kay, the Angels’ former director of communications, faces up to life in federal prison if convicted.
