After pleading guilty to federal drug charges in connection with the methadone poison of four children, one of whom passed away, a New York City day care owner was given a sentence of 45 years in prison.
Grei Mendez, 37, who ran the Divino Nio day care from a Bronx room, was sentenced on Monday by US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff. Her father Felix Herrera-Garcia, who also admitted to drug costs and causing bodily harm, had recently received the same sentence from the prosecutor. For their crimes, the pair was required to serve at least 20 years in prison and serve a maximum sentence of living.
Mendez admitted to conspiring to distribute opioids that led to the death. She expressed regret before being sentenced and said,” I do want everyone to realize it was an incident.” I apologize pretty much. I sincerely hope to become forgiven tomorrow.
Nicholas Feliz-Dominici, 22 months old, and three other children were exposed to morphine at the daycare on September 15, 2023. The other kids survived after receiving Narcan, while Feliz-Dominici was taken to a clinic where he passed away. Eventually, investigators discovered drug-packaging materials as well as morphine stored on playmats and beneath a door in the play place.
The victim’s family said it was difficult to forgive Mendez during imprisonment, while the child’s parents said,” We’re living, but we’re not alive,” while the victim’s mom said it was. Judge Rakoff acknowledged the mental strain and recalled his own tragic loss of a brother to death, but he also stressed that the law must take into account a wider viewpoint. He criticized Mendez for placing a high value on the health of the children given to her attention over the happiness of her home.
According to the prosecution, Mendez allegedly used the daycare as a staging area for drug smuggling. She initially denied knowing about the cocaine, but she later deleted more than 20 000 WhatsApp messages from her phone, including those that included dialogues with her partner about drug dealing.
According to counsel Maggie Lynaugh,” She had the essential to helping these children and didn’t apply it,” Mendez noted that Mendez observed Feliz-Dominici struggling for an hour before dialing 911. According to the prosecution, she allegedly failed to respond quickly, withheld crucial data from disaster personnel, and attempted to cover up the drug activity.
Officials located more than 11 kilograms of morphine and heroin hidden beneath the ground, along with kitchen utensils used to store both drugs and food. According to one attorney, the children’s breakfast was the most likely supply of the poisoning.
Mendez had recently claimed she had no idea what was happening at the daycare. She told investigators,” I know that stuff kills.” But, when she applied to open the daycare, prosecutors cited data that demonstrated that she had received references from well-known drug dealers. Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, who eventually admitted to package cocaine at the site, made one comment that she praised her child-care skills. Another man described her as” a beautiful caregiver” from an unknown source.
Mendez pleaded for mercy at the sentencing hearing, saying,” Consider me, this has left me traumatized. Choose pass some compassion on me. Her attorney, Paul King, claimed that she had experienced stress in her own childhood and no due drug-related offenses.
However, prosecutors claimed that she was “primary duty for involving infants” in the cocaine function. She lied to law enforcement and destroyed information in an effort to defend herself and her co-conspirators, they wrote in court papers.
Parents and authorities have been indignant about the event, which raises concerns about how a child care facility could be used as a medication storage facility. Authorities are looking into further connections to the medicine operation as the investigation continues.
