Former co-worker says Eric Kay saw Tyler Skaggs taking drugs the night before he died – Orange County Register

By SCHUYLER DIXON Writer AP Sports

FORT WORTH, Texas – Former Angels employee Eric Kay, who is accused of providing opioids that contributed to Tyler Skaggs’ overdose death, told a colleague that he watched the Angels average take the drugs. the night before he was found dead in a hotel room in suburban Dallas, according to testimony Monday.

Kay, who faces drug distribution and drug conspiracy charges, confided to Adam Chodzko about two weeks after Skaggs’ death in 2019 that he was in Skaggs’ room, Chodzko testified at the hearing. court.

Kay told Chodzko that he had turned down an offer from Skaggs to bring drugs with him, Chodzko testified. Kay had just returned to the team from drug rehab and was one of Chodzko’s subordinates on the Angels public relations staff at the time.

Kay said he saw three lines of drugs on the table and watched Skaggs sniff them before leaving the room, according to Chodzko, who is now Angels’ communications director.

One of Kay’s defense attorneys said at the outset of the arguments that Skaggs was not in an accident when Kay left his room. And a police detective testified on Monday – the fourth day of testimony in Kay’s trial – that Kay lied about the last time he saw Skaggs hours after the pitcher was discovered. is now dead.

Skaggs, 27, was found dead on July 1, 2019, after the team moved from Long Beach Airport and before the start of what is believed to be a four-game series against the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report said Skaggs had choked to death from vomiting, and that a toxic mixture of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was in his system.

Kay acted as the team’s public relations officer on several trips, and the trip to Texas was his first since returning from rehab. Kay was laid off shortly after Skaggs’ death, and never returned to the team.

Federal prosecutors allege Kay gave Skaggs fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl after the team arrived in Texas. The defense said Kay gave Skaggs the last drug in California and there was no way to know if fentanyl led to his death.

Chris Leanos, who testified Monday under immunity and admitted to being a drug dealer, said he saw what he believes to be a drug-related transaction between Skaggs and Kay. at one of the Angels charity events. Leanos testified that he guarded the bathroom door after Skaggs entered.

Leanos, who said he had been selling cocaine, MDMA, mushrooms and marijuana for years, testified that he received a text message from Skaggs “a week or two” before the pitcher’s death with a request for a supply. oxycodone supply. Leanos, who said he had been friends with Skaggs since 2007, said he declined the request, that he did not sell opioids and that he told Skaggs the pills could be dangerous.

Defense attorney Michael Molfetta mobilized Leanos during cross-examination, questioning how Leanos could say “whatever you want and not be prosecuted for it”.

After trying to get an estimate from Leanos of how much drug he’d taken since 2018, Molfetta asked, “What’s your cocaine supplier’s name and number?” Leanos did not need to respond as the prosecutor’s objections were maintained.

Southlake Police Sgt. Jonathan Macheca testified that Kay said he never saw Skaggs the night the team checked into the hotel. Kay also never mentioned seeing drugs or knowing Skaggs used drugs, Macheca said.

Prosecutors detailed several communications that alleged Kay arranged drug shipments to Angel Stadium, and retired DEA special agent Michael Ferry said former Angels pitcher Garrett Richards and Skaggs sent Kay hundreds of dollars in several transactions through Venmo.

Richards is among seven former Angels players on the witness list. Andrew Heaney, one of Skaggs’ closest friends on the team, testified on the first day of the trial. Another witness was pitcher Matt Harvey, to whom the defense made several hints about a drug-related relationship between him and Skaggs.