OC Register: Former Angels employee indicted in connection with death of Tyler Skaggs

[AngelsWin.com]

Former Angels employee Eric Kay has been indicted on two counts of federal drug crimes in connection to the death of Tyler Skaggs last year.

The indictment charges Kay with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled a substance, and also with distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

The indictment was filed on Friday morning in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Skaggs was found dead in his Texas hotel room on July 1, 2019, and an autopsy later revealed fentanyl and oxycodone in his system. Fentanyl is a dangerous 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Kay, who had worked for more than 20 years in the team’s public relations department, is charged with supplying the dangerous opioids to Skaggs. According to the indictment, Kay “and others” had been supplying the drugs “beginning in or before 2017.”

There was no immediate comment from Kay’s Orange County attorney, Michael Molfetta.

Kay has not worked for the Angels since last year.

In August, Kay was charged in connection to the death, and he surrendered to authorities in Texas. Since then, Kay and federal authorities had delayed the proceedings twice to pursue plea agreements, according to court documents.

At the time of the charge in August, U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox said in a statement that the charges against Kay should serve as a warning to the dangers of fentanyl.

“Tyler Skaggs’s overdose – coming, as it did, in the midst of an ascendant baseball career – should be a wakeup call: No one is immune from this deadly drug, whether sold as a powder or hidden inside an innocuous-looking tablet,” Cox said.  “Suppressing the spread of fentanyl is a priority for the Department of Justice.”

The complaint accompanies the charged detailed phone records of apparent drug transactions between Kay and Skaggs. There was also evidence of Kay meeting Skaggs in his hotel room the night before he was found dead.

The Angels were staying in Southlake, Texas, a Dallas suburb, on the eve of a series against the Texas Rangers.

The Angels have denied that anyone in management with the organization was aware of Kay’s alleged drug distribution or Skaggs’ use.

Skaggs’ family has retained Texas lawyer Rusty Hardin. They could sue the Angels for wrongful death, but they have been waiting for the criminal process to unfold before beginning a civil action.

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[Blarg]

Pretty slow moving on these charges but I guess Kay didn't have anything to plea with. That means the Skaggs family probably won't have anything to move forward with on a wrongful death suit. 

[yk9001]

The Skaggs family and Vanessa Bryant can't file lawsuits fast enough.

[Jay]

Why are these federal charges though?

[Blarg]

Interstate. 

[Angel Oracle]

I hope someone in prison becomes Kay’s very own Shawshank Boggs.

Edited October 16, 2020 by Angel Oracle

[yk9001]

33 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

I hope someone in prison becomes Kay’s very own Shawshank Boggs.

I have no problem with Kay going to prison for breaking laws.  But I don't understand the animosity in posts like this.

Do you think he had a gun to Skaggs' head when Skaggs ingested?

Do you consider Skaggs an innocent victim?

[eligrba]

1 hour ago, yk9001 said:

I have no problem with Kay going to prison for breaking laws.  But I don't understand the animosity in posts like this.

Do you think he had a gun to Skaggs' head when Skaggs ingested?

Do you consider Skaggs an innocent victim?

Because if the person providing the drugs really cared about Skaggs, their job, their integrity, the overall welfare of Skagg’s family, they could have informed someone in the organization of the situation. I’m guessing that if the Angels were aware, someone in the organization would have tried to help.

[ten ocho recon scout]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

Why are these federal charges though?

 

2 hours ago, Blarg said:

Interstate. 

This.

 

And personally, I think its pretty overdone. Sure, he supplied Skaggs. But, if I understand it correctly, it wasnt like he was a dealer. 

Kay himself is an addict. I doubt he was selling.... more, he and Skaggs shared an addiction. The only profit Im guessing Kay ever got was getting hooked up by Skaggs... meaning, Kay had a connect, Skaggs went through him, and in return, Kay scored some, too.

But, I dont have much info of the specifics. 

[tdawg87]

Skaggs killed himself. 

[Adam]

Ridiculous that he's being charged

[eligrba]

14 minutes ago, Adam said:

Ridiculous that he's being charged

Really? Can you elaborate?

[Vegas Halo Fan]

1 hour ago, Adam said:

Ridiculous that he's being charged

Illegally providing narcotics that result in death is a crime. There was a doctor here who did state time for something similar. Gave narcotics to a visitor (he ran one of those "doctor to your room" businesses for Strip tourists), the patient ODd and died, and he didn't have the proper licensing to be transporting or directly distributing the medications that he provided. He just had a bunch of drugs in the trunk of his car.

[Adam]

1 hour ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

Illegally providing narcotics that result in death is a crime. There was a doctor here who did state time for something similar. Gave narcotics to a visitor (he ran one of those "doctor to your room" businesses for Strip tourists), the patient ODd and died, and he didn't have the proper licensing to be transporting or directly distributing the medications that he provided. He just had a bunch of drugs in the trunk of his car.

Blame the politicians that have criminalized drugs

[Vegas Halo Fan]

19 hours ago, Adam said:

Blame the politicians that have criminalized drugs

There is a reason that narcotics are strictly controlled. Skaggs is a case in point.

[Adam]

3 minutes ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

There is a reason that narcotics are strictly controlled. Skaggs is a case in point.

If they were legal Skaggs wouldn’t have had to settle for fentanyl. That they’re criminalized is why he’s dead

[Vegas Halo Fan]

1 minute ago, Adam said:

If they were legal Skaggs wouldn’t have had to settle for fentanyl. That they’re criminalized is why he’s dead

I don't follow that line of thinking, but OK...

[Jason]

22 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Skaggs killed himself. 

sadly, yes 

Edited October 17, 2020 by Jason

[Jason]

7 minutes ago, Adam said:

If they were legal Skaggs wouldn’t have had to settle for fentanyl. That they’re criminalized is why he’s dead

Maybe that was his drug of choice. 

[eligrba]

21 hours ago, Adam said:

Blame the politicians that have criminalized drugs

 

1 hour ago, Adam said:

If they were legal Skaggs wouldn’t have had to settle for fentanyl. That they’re criminalized is why he’s dead

[Angelsjunky]

Fentanyl isn't a "drug of choice." It is a cheap, synthetic opioid used to increase heroin's potency, and as a cheaper replacement. If heroin were legal, Tyler Skaggs would probably be alive, because rich dudes like him could just buy it in its pure form. Fentanyl is far more dangerous and has greatly increased the number of opioid deaths.

[ten ocho recon scout]

45 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Fentanyl isn't a "drug of choice." It is a cheap, synthetic opioid used to increase heroin's potency, and as a cheaper replacement. If heroin were legal, Tyler Skaggs would probably be alive, because rich dudes like him could just buy it in its pure form. Fentanyl is far more dangerous and has greatly increased the number of opioid deaths.

Its in meth and coke, too, not just heroin.

But whereas this is a fair take, theres some hiccups.

If it was legal, and easier to obtain, skaggs also could have needed increasingly more and more of it.... i go to ODs several times a week, with no fent, just heroin.

The other problems is that sure, skaggs could afford his habit... the majority cant. Its the problems those people cause why drugs are illegal.

Society could care less if you ruin your life, or kill yourself. Its the problems you cause for society. IE, you drive drunk, crash into a tree, make your insides explode to the outside, meh, did it to yourself. But if instead of a tree, you hit another person....

 

Thats why we cant drive drunk.

[Angelsjunky]

1 hour ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Its in meth and coke, too, not just heroin.

But whereas this is a fair take, theres some hiccups.

If it was legal, and easier to obtain, skaggs also could have needed increasingly more and more of it.... i go to ODs several times a week, with no fent, just heroin.

The other problems is that sure, skaggs could afford his habit... the majority cant. Its the problems those people cause why drugs are illegal.

Society could care less if you ruin your life, or kill yourself. Its the problems you cause for society. IE, you drive drunk, crash into a tree, make your insides explode to the outside, meh, did it to yourself. But if instead of a tree, you hit another person....

 

Thats why we cant drive drunk.

Understand that I'm ultra libertarian in these matters, scout. I believe in complete legalization of all drugs, prostitution, sex of any kind between consenting adults, etc. 

Now when one's actions impact others, I agree. Drunk driving should be illegal, clearly.

But here's the question: Does the criminalization of drugs actually reduce the problem "these people" cause? We can't know unless we try other options, but what we do know is that the problems haven't gotten better - they've gotten worse, at least as far as drug overdoses are concerned. And we can also look to countries who have taken different routes such as decriminalization, and found varying degrees of success.

Remember also that we're a nation that has only recently started to legalize marijuana, a "drug" that causes almost zero deaths per year, but we glorify alcohol, which kills 88,000 people a year.

My larger issue with this punitive approach of punishing someone like Kay is that it ignores the vast web that creates such situations. Not just the criminalization of drugs which generates drug trafficking and dangerous (fentanyl-laced) hybrids, but over-prescription of opioids, and other societal factors, like viewing drug addiction as a crime rather than a medical condition, which makes getting good treatment very tough. Not even mentioning Skaggs' responsibility. Kay is just a scapegoat, really.

 

[eligrba]

12 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Thats why we cant drive drunk.

BUT I WOKE UP IN A FREE COUNTRY!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oops.....sorry, wrong conversation.

[Redondo]

Marijuana itself is a mild drug, sort of. With the enhanced quality it's a lot more powerful than when I was younger.

But people who do drugs hang with a circle of friends that also use.

At some point they are exposed to other drugs by others. Gives them more opportunity to use or experiment with them. 

Where as if you weren't exposed to it the odds of doing so go down.

So IMO Marijuana is a gateway drug.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Redondo