More than three years following the death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, a verdict has been reached for Eric Kay, who was charged for his role in the tragic incident.
Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for the distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in Skaggs’ death and conspiracy. The minimum sentence was 20 years, but Judge Terry Means believed Kay’s actions during sentencing proceedings earlier this year, were enough to warrant adding on additional time.
The Skaggs family released a statement following the final sentencing, via Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
“We are very grateful to everyone who worked so hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay,” the statement said. “Today’s sentencing isn’t about the number of years the defendant received. The real issue, in this case, is holding accountable the people who are distributing the deadly drug fentanyl. It is killing tens of thousands of people every year in our country and destroying families along with it. We will continue the fight to hold responsible those who allowed Kay to provide a deadly drug to Tyler. But for their actions, Tyler would still be with us today.”
Kay was charged with Skaggs’ death in over two years ago, and following an internal investigation performed by the Angels, they denied what the original charges against Kay had alleged. More than 79 witnesses were called to testify by the prosecution, which included numerous former Angels players including Matt Harvey, Andrew Heaney, C.J. Cron, Garrett Richards, Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian and Michael Morin.
Earlier this year, Kay was found guilty, and at the very minimum, this will hopefully be a step forward for everyone mourning the loss of Skaggs.
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