Two men admit guilt in federal case regarding the fatal drug overdose of a 1-year-old at a Bronx daycare facility.
In the early hours of the day his trial was due to commence in Manhattan, Felix Herrera Garcia, aged 35, admitted guilt to one charge of conspiring to disseminate narcotics resulting in fatality and serious injury, one count of planning to distribute narcotics that resulted in fatalities, and one charge of planning to distribute narcotics leading to severe bodily injury. These charges, as per the US Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York's official declaration.
Each of these counts comes with a 20-year minimum sentence and a lifetime maximum term in prison, the prosecutors disclosed.
As can be seen in court documents, Herrera Garcia is the spouse of Grei Mendez, who owns and manages the daycare. He was apprehended by officials in Mexico 11 days after the event.
The charges were filed due to the death of Nicholas Dominici, who was 1 year old at the time, and the exposure of him and three others to suspected opioids at the Divino Niño daycare in the Bronx in 2023.
"Herrera Garcia is now responsible for the passing of little Nicholas, the injuries sustained by Abel, and the harm inflicted on Kiara and Jaziel," stated Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark on Monday.
Not too long ago, a fellow conspirator, Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, age 38, was found guilty of conspiring to distribute narcotics. He also admitted that his role in the incidents resulted in "death and serious bodily injury." This crime has set a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison, with life imprisonment as the maximum sentence, according to prosecutors.
Parra Paredes' attorney, John Kaley, announced to CNN that his client has accepted his guilt, empathized with the harm caused to the children, and offered his deepest apologies to the affected families.
While charges pertaining to Mendez, the owner of the daycare, and another suspect, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, are still under federal consideration, their cases have yet to see a resolution, as mentioned by the US attorney's office on Monday.
Mendez and Brito, the owner of the day care and also a tenant living in a room inside the daycare, are accused of parallel state murder charges related to the infant's death, the Bronx DA's office informed.
By way of precedent, Brito is Herrera Garcia's cousin and resided within the day care's premises.
Based on information from a federal law enforcement official, all four individuals held captive under suspicion of involvement in this conspiracy were mid-level drug distributors.
We've contacted the defense attorneys of the other three defendants for a response to this event.
The inputs provided by CNN's Celina Tebor, John Miller, and Mark Morales were instrumental to this report.
Read also:
Us federal authorities are investigating the role of Grei Mendez, the spouse of Felix Herrera Garcia and owner of the daycare where the overdose occurred, in the case.
The charges against Renny Antonio Parra Paredes and Felix Herrera Garcia were both filed as a result of their actions leading to the fatal overdose of 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici and the subsequent harm to three other children at the daycare, which is located in the US.
