Angels officials, former players set to testify as Skaggs trial reaches one-month mark

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Critical testimony is expected this week in the wrongful death civil trial brought by the family of Tyler Skaggs against the Los Angeles Angels. The plaintiffs are expected to call the club’s HR director, Deborah Johnston, as well as multiple players and Skaggs’ father.

After weeks of back-and-forth about the availability, Angels team president John Carpino will no longer be called as a witness by Skaggs’ attorneys due to time constraints, as the trial hits the mark this week. He could be called by the Angels when they put on their case, and will be cross-examined by Skaggs’ attorneys.

Skaggs’ attorneys utilized last week’s testimony to establish how a team doctor’s opiate prescriptions exacerbated Eric Kay’s addiction, and how, according to multiple former employees, that addiction became evident throughout the organization.

“Erratic behavior, just kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” ex-Angels equipment manager Keith Tarter testified on Friday about his perception of Kay. “One minute he’s laughing and next minute he’s angry about something. And then all of a sudden, he forgot all about it again.”

Kay, the former Angels’ communications director, is serving 22 years in federal prison for providing the fentanyl-laced pill that Skaggs ingested, leading to his death on July 1, 2019. Skaggs’ family is suing the club, alleging negligence.

Witnesses represented by the Angels have generally said they were unaware of Kay’s drug abuse, while ex-Angels employees not represented by the team who testified last week have given a different perspective. Earlier on Friday, current Angels massage therapist Yoichi Terada testified that he never saw anything to suspect Kay’s drug use.

“I think he was just working normally,” Terada said. “I didn’t see anything unusual.”

However, earlier in the week clubhouse attendant Kris Constanti testified that Kay’s drug use was well known in the organization, and another clubby, Vince Willet, testified that he personally witnessed Kay snorting a pill in a team facility.

Tarter testified on Friday that Kay jokingly asked him to share his prescription painkillers. He also testified about a time when he, Kay and longtime Angels pitcher Jered Weaver were at a bar, and Weaver responded to a quip from Kay by saying, “Why don’t you take another pill, you druggie.” Weaver did not respond to a request for comment.

Angels counsel has attempted to discredit these former employees, portraying them as bitter because of their dismissals from the club. On Friday, Angels lawyer Stephen Ladsous showed Tarter his X account, which had multiple retweets of derogatory posts about team owner Arte Moreno.

“Sitting here today, you hold a grudge against Arte Moreno, John Carpino, and Angels Baseball for terminating your employment,” Ladsous asked Tarter.

“I’ve had these feelings since pretty much 2016,” Tarter responded. “It’s just I’m not paid by them anymore, so I can say whatever I want.”

The two key witnesses this week, Johnston and Carpino, are both current employees represented by the Angels. Johnston, who leads the HR department, will be the third Angels HR witness. The side has utilized previous HR witnesses to ask questions about their knowledge of Kay’s drug use, employees not following team policy, how they enforce their rules, and the decision to let Kay voluntarily resign with a severance package.

It appears that Skaggs’ side is attempting to lay the foundation that Kay and Carpino worked closely together, and that Carpino was not detached from the communications department. It’s come up with multiple witnesses, and in particular Tarter, who was asked about Carpino and Kay’s dynamic.

“I believe they were pretty close,” Tarter said. “I think Eric was something of a middleman for the front office to the locker room.”

Additionally, Skaggs lawyers said they had to put Johnston on the stand before Carpino. The judge can sustain objections to questions if foundation hasn’t been laid by previous testimony.

Skaggs’ attorneys also plan to play deposition testimony of former Angels pitcher Cam Bedrosian, who testified at Kay’s 2022 criminal trial to receiving pills from Kay. They also hope to play about three minutes of a deposition from Southlake Police detective Delaney Green, who took notes from a police interview with Kay before he was criminally charged. The Angels have objected to her testimony on the grounds that it is an inadmissible plea bargain negotiation. The judge has yet to make a ruling.

The Skaggs side is attempting to cut down on its witness list, given the trial’s time constraints. While much of their case has been presenting evidence of Kay’s drug use, and how the Angels dealt with it, it also centers on defending claims about Skaggs’ character.

While their witnesses have universally testified that they liked Skaggs and saw him as a good person, there have yet to be any witnesses devoted solely to talking about Skaggs and his character. Skaggs’ lawyers plan to call his father, Darrell Skaggs, and his best friend and ex-teammate, Andrew Heaney, this week. Another ex-teammate, Ty Buttrey, will testify about what he saw from Skaggs the night he died.

The Angels side said in their opening statements that Skaggs was a “reckless” drug user, and have posed questions to witnesses about Skaggs pursuing women that worked for the team, despite being married — indicating how they’ll approach their own case, when they get to present it.

Judge H. Shaina Colover asked jurors if they’d be able to extend the trial, which was supposed to end, at the latest, on Dec. 12. Jurors said they’d be available for an additional three days the following week, if needed.