Former Angels employee Eric Prescott Kay was charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in connection to the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
In a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, district attorney Erin Nealy Cox confirmed the 45-year-old was indicted in court on Friday, Aug. 7.
According to a criminal complaint written by Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Geoffrey Lindenberg, Skaggs texted Kay, asking him to bring him “just a few” pills to his Texas hotel room on Jun. 30, 2019. This was corroborated with hotel key card records and a colleague who claimed Kay had admitted to visiting Skagg’s hotel room that night.
Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room the next morning, July 1, 2019.
An autopsy later determined the Angels pitcher died after choking on his own vomit, which was caused by a lethal combination of opioids and alcohol. In Friday’s press release, authorities added, “But for the fentanyl, Mr. Skaggs would not have died.”