Félix Herrera García, husband of the owner of the “Divino Niño” daycare where a baby died and three others were hospitalized drugged by fentanyl in The Bronx (NYC), was arrested yesterday in Mexico.
Although authorities thought the Dominican had fled to his native country, he was arrested yesterday aboard a bus in Sinaloa. The charges against him have not been announced and neither have details of his virtual extradition to the US.
Police tracked Herrera (34) as he drove south through Texas and crossed the border into Mexico, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. Detectives believe his goal was to somehow get to the Dominican Republic, he said. DailyNews.
The husband of the owner of a Bronx day care where a 1-year-old boy died from fentanyl was arrested in Mexico, sources said.
“The defendants poisoned four babies and killed one of them because they were running a drug operation from a day care centerhttps://t.co/jtk6GBJZYt
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 26, 2023
This is the 4th detainee, all Hispanic, in the dramatic case that began on the afternoon of Friday, September 15. The first arrested, the day after the baby’s death, were Grei Méndez (33) and Carlisto Acevedo Brito (41), Herrera’s wife and cousin.
Days later, this Monday the 25th, Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, alias “El Gallo,” was arrested and accused of conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.
Mendez was the owner of the daycare located at 2707 Morris Avenue and Acevedo lived in a rented room there. The charges against them include murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and possession of narcotics with intent to distribute resulting in death, among others. All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
From the first day the police were looking for Méndez’s husband, but his name had not been released until yesterday when he was arrested.
The criminal complaint states that Méndez deleted from her phone about 21,500 messages that she had exchanged with an alleged accomplice, whom law enforcement identified as her husband, between March 2021 and September 15. She also allegedly called him several times before reporting the emergency to 911.
Then her husband arrived, stayed for about two minutes and walked out into an alley with two full shopping bags, while the children were unconscious and awaiting medical attention, according to court documents.
- The painful alert that the death of a baby due to alleged inhalation of fentanyl in a daycare leaves the Big Apple
On the afternoon of the tragedy, four minors who were in the daycare were found unconscious and it was later determined that they had fentanyl in their systems. Three of them were revived with the opioid-reversing antidote Narcan, but one-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici could not be saved.
The DEA alleges that Paredes played a key role in the drug distribution operation. During a search of his apartment, investigators found tools and instruments used to prepare and distribute narcotics, including strainers, duct tape, a grinder, plastic bags and digital scales. They also found what appeared to be two clear bags filled with a grayish powder and a rectangular brick-shaped package, which appeared to contain drugs.
The indictment against Paredes alleges that officials found glass envelopes with the same red seal reading “Red Dawn” that was found at the daycare.
Federal authorities allege large quantities of narcotics were stored under the floor, on play mats and in a closet at the daycare. Several kilos of drugs and other items related to drug trafficking have been found at the scene.
New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan commented that “Divino Niño” was an open “in-home” child care site recently licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). . State inspectors had visited the center unannounced on Sept. 6 and found no violations, records show. A sign outside said they served children between 6 weeks and 12 years old.
Damian Williams, federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, called the alleged actions of Méndez and Brito “unconscionable” and “inexcusable.” If convicted of the federal charges they could face life in prison and a minimum sentence of 20 years behind bars.
The federal charges are in addition to the state homicide charges that both Dominicans received. For his part, Paredes faces between 20 years and life in prison.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be used to mix drugs such as cocaine or heroin and produce an effect up to 50 times stronger.
The growing supply of fentanyl has exacerbated the city’s drug epidemic: the deadly opioid is detected in 80% of overdose deaths, according to the Department of Health (DOH). This was not the first baby death in 2023 that NYPD links to narcotics use.
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