Prosecutors said Jhan Carlos Capellan Maldonado, 35, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to a superseding information charging him with one count of distributing heroin and fentanyl from a drug mill in The Bronx in December 2018. Capellan Maldonado admitted that his distribution of fentanyl caused the death of a 15-month-old child. Salas imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.

Capellan Maldonado also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl from a separate drug mill in The Bronx in February 2019. Six other individuals, Reimon Genao Rosario, 28; Dilson Vazquez Genao, 28; Eddie Urena Rodriguez, 39; Francisco Mercedes Gil, 36; Daury Contreras Ulerio, aka “Majimbou,” 39; and Jose Antonio Vazquez Pena, aka “Tono,” 51, also of The Bronx, have all previously pleaded guilty to the same charge before Salas and have been sentenced.

“In December 2018, a 15-month-old child ingested fentanyl and died,” Sellinger said. “The toddler was in a Bronx apartment being used by Capellan Maldonado to run his drug distribution operation, preparing and packaging heroin and fentanyl. His drug mill led directly to the death of this child.”

Sellinger added, “The punishment he received today will not bring the child back, but the defendant is being brought to justice for the terrible effects of his role in trafficking this poison. The fentanyl epidemic has caused enormous pain and suffering to our communities, including the death of the child in this case.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on Dec. 27, 2018, Capellan Maldonado was operating a drug mill at an apartment in The Bronx where he employed four individuals to store, mix, and package heroin and fentanyl in quantities for distribution into New Jersey. Capellan Maldonado admitted that while the group was preparing the heroin and fentanyl, a 15-month-old child present in the apartment ingested some of the fentanyl and died as a result. The four other individuals were charged with homicide by the District Attorney’s Office in the Bronx.

Police had said at the time that on Dec. 27, 2018 at 10.14 a.m., officers from the 46th Precinct were alerted to an unconscious 1-year-old in front of 1880 University Place (Avenue) in Morris Heights, The Bronx within the confines of the 46th Precinct. “Officers exited their vehicle and observed an unconscious and unresponsive 1 year-old male,” a police spokesperson said. “The officers began to administer CPR and transported the child in their vehicle to St. Barnabas Hospital, where the child was pronounced deceased.”

They said there was no obvious trauma to the child and the medical examiner’s office would determine the cause of death. The deceased was identified as Darwin Gonzalez-Santana, 1, 1770 Montgomery Avenue, [Morris Heights] Bronx, NY.

Meanwhile, in early February 2019, law enforcement officers learned that Capellan Maldonado was again using an apartment in The Bronx to store, mix, and package heroin and fentanyl in distribution quantities. Vazquez Pena stayed at the apartment in order to safeguard the narcotics and narcotics supplies. Capellan Maldonado employed five workers at a time – including Rodriguez, Contreras Ulerio, Genao Rosario, Gil, and Vazquez Genao – to assist in preparing the heroin and fentanyl for distribution, which Capellan Maldonado then distributed to customers in New Jersey.

On Feb. 27, 2019, law enforcement searched Capellan Maldonado’s apartment and found seven individuals inside, including Rodriguez, Contreras Ulerio, Genao Rosario, Gil, Capellan Maldonado, Vazquez Pena, and Vazquez Genao. All seven defendants attempted to escape out a window, and all but one – Genao Rosario – were apprehended and arrested by law enforcement officers waiting outside. Genao Rosario was arrested at a later date. Law enforcement recovered nearly a kilogram of fentanyl from the apartment, along with materials to grind and package fentanyl for distribution. In addition to the prison term, Salas sentenced Capellan Maldonado to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, under the direction of Spiros Karabinas, acting special agent in charge, and special agents of the New York division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Frank Tarentino, special agent in charge, with the investigation which led to the sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney DeNae Thomas of the health care fraud unit in Newark led the prosecution.