Former Los Angeles Angels employee indicted in overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs
The former communications director of the Los Angeles Angels has been indicted on a federal drug charges related to the fentanyl overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs in Southlake in 2019, according to federal officails.
A federal grand jury indicted Eric Prescott Kay, 45, on Thursday on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury..
Kay, who was arrested in Fort Worth, made his initial court appearance in August before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton at the Mahon Federal Courthouse.
A criminal complaint written by DEA agent Geoffrey Lindeberg provided this account of the incident:
Inside of Skaggs’ hotel room, investigators found a number of pills, including a single blue pill with the markings M/30. The pill, which resembled a 30-milligram oxycodone tablet, was tested and it had been laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opiate.
Kay allegedly denied knowing whether Skaggs was a drug user. He also claimed the last time he saw Skaggs was at hotel check-in on June 30, but investigators searched Skaggs’ phone, which revealed text messages on June 30 suggesting that Kay stop by his room with pills later that evening.
Hotel key card records indicated Kay’s room was opened at 11:29 p.m., and Skaggs’ was opened nine minutes later.
Kay allegedly admitted to a colleague that he had visited Skaggs’ room the night he died.
Kay is accused of regularly dealing the M/30 pills dubbed “blue boys” to Skaggs and to others, passing out the pills at the stadium where they worked.
Kay is accused of dealing the drugs from 2017 until July 2019, according to the complaint.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 1:54 PM.
