A grand jury has convened in Texas to hear evidence in the death of Tyler Skaggs, a proceeding that could lead to the filing of criminal charges, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Skaggs was 27 and a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels when he died on July 1 in his hotel room in Southlake, Texas. The Angels were in town to play the Texas Rangers, and an autopsy later showed he died of aspiration and had a combination of oxycodone, fentanyl and alcohol in his system.
The Times reported last fall that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had interviewed at least six of Skaggs’ teammates. Additionally, a former Angels employee told authorities he gave Skaggs half of the six oxycodone pills he had obtained illegally, ESPN reported in October.
That employee was Eric Kay, who was the Angels’ director of communications when Skaggs died.
The Times, citing anonymous sources, said that as of Monday, neither Kay nor any of Skaggs’ teammates had been called to appear before the grand jury.
Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and Loyola Law School professor, told the Times that convening a grand jury was a “significant” step in the case.
“It means there’s at least some concern about how widespread this incident might be by those who provided drugs, were involved in the activities, knew about them, may have made misrepresentations, whatever the connection might be,” she said.
