When LA Angels front-office employee Eric Kay's inflammatory jailhouse talks about Tyler Skaggs extended his prison time

In October 2022, former Los Angeles Angels front-office employee, Eric Kay was sent to federal prison after being found guilty of involvement in the 2019 overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

The investigation began on July 1, 2019, after the cops reported to the ground zero and discovered Skaggs dead in his hotel room at the Southlake Town Square Hilton.

Subsequent examination revealed that Tyler had a combination of ethanol, fentanyl, and oxycodone in his system at the time of his passing.

Now, three years later, prior to the announcement of Kay's sentencing by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Chad Meacham, prosecutors presented recordings of the Eric insulting the late 27-year-old MLB player during jailhouse phone calls.

"All they see are dollar signs. They may get more money with him dead than [when] he was playing because he sucked," Kay said referring to the Skaggs family.

In another derogatory exchange, he mentioned:

"I'm here because of Tyler Skaggs. Well, he's dead. So f--- him."

Owing to the disparaging remarks, Eric Kay was sentenced to 22 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.

Apparently, a 20-year sentence was considered too severe for Kay for the crime committed. However, Terry R. Means stated that he extended the sentence by two years due to Eric's disrespectful remarks regarding the Skaggs family in the jailhouse conversation.

Tyler Skaggs' family was happy with Eric Kay's sentence in prison

Seattle Mariners v Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 12: Tyler Skaggs wife Carli Skaggs, his mother Debbie Hetman stand next to step father Danny Hetman during the National Anthem before the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 12, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)

After the former Los Angeles Angels front-office employee, Eric Kay was sentenced to federal prison, the late MLB pitcher Tyler Skaggs' family expressed their contentment.

Nevertheless, the duration of the defendant's sentence was not their primary concern.

"We are very grateful to everyone who worked so hard to investigate and prosecute Eric Kay," the Skaggs family said in a statement. "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.

Instead, their focus was on ensuring that the individual responsible for distributing the lethal drug fentanyl were held responsible in this particular case.