There’s another twist in the tragic case of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who was found dead in his Dallas-area hotel room July 1 just hours before the Angels’ game with the Texas Rangers. This time, it appears the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is involved.
According to a report from ESPN.com, the DEA is investigating how and where Skaggs obtained the drugs in his system that led to his death.
The autopsy revealed Skaggs, who specifically died when he choked on his own vomit, had fentanyl, oxycodone and ethanol in his system.
NEW on Tyler Skaggs: the DEA is now investigating his death, seeking the source of the fentanyl found in his system. My story: https://t.co/kMATwfsNMj
— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) September 18, 2019
Tragedy and controversy
The baseball community mourned Skaggs’ death and met it with an outpouring of support. Teams held moments of silence before games. Fans constructed a makeshift memorial outside Angel Stadium. The Angels, on the night they honored Skaggs at home, threw a combined no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners.
It took months for the autopsy results, but when they came out, they created a whole other range of emotions. The drugs Skaggs had in his system are dangerous and illegal in those quantities. His family released a statement hinting that an Angels employee had a hand in the incident.
The statement read, in part, “We were shocked to learn that it may involve an employee of the Los Angeles Angels. We will not rest until we learn the truth about how Tyler came into possession of these narcotics, including who supplied them.”
DEA will reportedly be looking into the death of former Angels SP Tyler Skaggs death on July 1, 2019; probing how Skaggs obtained the drugs that led to his death, specifically fentanyl pic.twitter.com/2nPPY9Im9S
— JDF Sports (@JDFSports) September 19, 2019
The waiting game
The Skaggs family attorney and Major League Baseball both declined comment to ESPN on the new development.
The Angels released only a statement from spokeswoman Marie Garvey. “We continue to cooperate with law enforcement on this important matter.”
Needless to say, the story isn’t going away.
Report: DEA launching probe into how Angels’ Tyler Skaggs obtained drugs https://t.co/eHvyIedtrI
— O.C. Register (@ocregister) September 19, 2019
