Federal prosecutors and the Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Monday, June 10, that two Bronx men have now pled guilty to various narcotics-related charges which resulted in the death of then one-year-old Nicholas Dominici and injury to three other infants due to fentanyl poisoning at El Divino Niño Daycare Center on Morris Avenue, now closed, located in the Kingsbridge Heights section of The Bronx in September 2023.

 

Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Darcel D. Clark, the Bronx district attorney, announced on Monday that on the morning he was scheduled to begin trial, Felix Herrera Garcia, husband of Grei Mendez, the manager of said daycare facility, who faces separate federal and State charges in connection to the incident, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, as well as possession of narcotics with intent to distribute resulting in death and serious bodily injury.

 

The charges were all in connection with the poisoning of the four children who were under the age of three at the time of the incident at the daycare on September 15, 2023. Around two weeks ago, on May 23, prosecutors said Renny Antonio Parra Paredes had also pled guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics and had stipulated that his conduct caused death and serious bodily injury, in connection with his role in the poisonings.

Reacting to the guilty pleas, Williams said, “In September 2023, four children at a Bronx daycare were poisoned by fentanyl. The children were seriously injured, and one baby died. This happened because, as they admitted in court, Felix Herrera Garcia and Renny Antonio Parra Paredes operated an illegal fentanyl operation out of the center, where they processed the deadly drugs for sale.”

 

He continued, “We said at the time that this case shocks the conscience of the City, and now Herrera Garcia and Parra Paredes have been brought to justice for this heinous crime.”

 

Meanwhile, Clark gave her reaction, saying, “Today, on the morning his trial was set to begin in Manhattan Federal Court, Felix Herrera Garcia pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Narcotics Resulting in Death and other federal charges for causing the fatal fentanyl ingestion of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici and the injury to three other babies at the Divino Nino Day Care Center in the Bronx on September 15, 2023.  Herrera Garcia has now been held accountable in the tragic loss of little Nicholas, the serious injury of Abel, and the harm to Kiara and Jaziel.”

As reported, Herrera Garcia had been intercepted by authorities in Mexico having allegedly fled the U.S. after the daycare center was raided in September 2023.

 

As alleged in the public filings, from at least in or about October 2022, through at least in or about September 2023, Herrera Garcia, 35, Parra Paredes, 38, and others [including Mendez, and Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41] conspired to distribute fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, and heroin, including at the daycare.

 

There, according to court filings, despite the daily presence of children, including infants, Herrera Garcia, Parra Paredes, and their co-conspirators maintained large quantities of fentanyl, including more than 10 kilograms of narcotics hidden inside secret compartments, or traps, located beneath the floor of the Daycare’s playroom, as previously reported.

 

As alleged, as a consequence of the drug conspiracy perpetrated by Herrera Garcia, Parra Paredes and their co-conspirators, on or about September 15, 2023, four children at the daycare, who were all under three years of age, experienced the effects of poisoning from exposure to fentanyl. Three of the children were hospitalized. The fourth, Nicholas, just under two years-of-age, died.

 

Herrera Garcia pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, one count of possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death, and one count of possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in serious bodily injury. All three counts carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Parra Paredes pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

 

The statutory minimum and maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

 

Williams praised what he described as the outstanding investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the NYPD, the Southern District of New York digital forensic unit, the complex analytical and social media enhancement team at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) New York Strike Force, and the United States Marshals Service (“USMS”).

 

He also thanked the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force of the USMS, the USMS Office of International Operations, the USMS for the Southern District of New York, the USMS for the Southern District of Texas, the USMS for the Southern District of California, the USMS Mexico Field Office, the USMS Investigative Operations Division, the DEA New York Strike Force, the DEA Regional Office in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the DEA Regional Office in McAllen, Texas, the DEA Regional Office in Mexico City, Mexico, the DEA Regional Office in Hermosillo, Mexico, and the DEA Regional Office in Monterrey, Mexico.

He went on to thank the DEA Special Operations Division, the NYPD 52nd Precinct’s Detective Squad, the NYPD Bronx Homicide Squad, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Mexican immigration authorities at the Instituto Nacional de Migración, the Policia Municipal de Barandilla, Sinaloa, Mexico, and the Policia Municipal de Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

 

According to federal prosecutors, the OCDETF New York Strike Force provides for the establishment of permanent, multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. Federal officials say the co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. They said the specific mission of the New York Strike Force is to target, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, reduce the illegal drug supply in the United States, and bring criminals to justice.

 

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon C. Thompson, Maggie Lynaugh, and Justin V. Rodriguez, as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl P. Miller of the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, are in charge of the prosecution.

Read our latest story on the Mendez case here. Click here to view a video of Mendez and Acevedo Brito leaving the 52nd Precinct on Webster Avenue in Norwood on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 17, 2023. Mendez and Acevedo Brito are presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) provides training and regularly updated information on how to obtain and administer naloxone (Narcan). Click here for more information.