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A fourth suspect has been arrested and reportedly faces charges in connection to the passing of one-year-old Nicholas Dominici. As The Shade Room previously reported, the toddler passed away on September 15. At the time of the incident, Dominici was in the care of the Divino Nino Daycare in the Bronx, New York.
The toddler’s death is reportedly due to suspected fentanyl exposure.
According to CBS News, Felix Herrera Garcia was taken into custody on Tuesday after being located on a bus headed to Culiacan in Mexico. According to the outlet, Culiacan is a “hub” for the “most powerful drug cartel in the world,” the Sinaloa cartel.
“That cartel is the largest producer, manufacturer and trafficker of fentanyl to the U.S.,” the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, explained as per CBS News. “It tells me he was going there for protection. So it made sense for him to take a bus to lay under the radar and go directly into Culiacan to lay low for a period of time.”
The outlet adds that authorities discovered Herrera Garcia’s whereabouts after receiving a tip. As The Shade Room previously reported, the suspect is the husband of the daycare owner, Grei Mendez De Ventura, who was taken into custody on the day of the incident.
At the time, it was reported that Mendez initially contacted her husband when she found Dominici “unresponsive.” When Garcia arrived at the location, he reportedly removed items from the daycare’s basement. Then, the suspect fled from police.
“… He left the day care and fled out the back alley, carrying two full shopping bags,” Williams added, as per USA Today. “All of that happened while the children, the babies, were suffering the effect of fentanyl and were in desperate need of help.”
According to PEOPLE, authorities believe that Herrera Garcia, his wife, and two other suspects are “mid-level drug distributors.” CBS News adds that the four suspects were reportedly “operating a drug ring out of the day care.”
Additionally, the outlet reports that Herrera Garcia will be extradited from Mexico to reportedly face “murder and other charges” in the U.S.
According to ABC News, a third suspect was arrested on Saturday in connection to Nicholas Dominici’s passing. The suspect has been identified as 38-year-old Renny Antonio Parra Paredes.
CBS News adds that Paredes, also known as “El Gallo,” served an “instrumental role in the drug distribution operation.” Authorities reportedly discovered many “tools and instruments” such as “strainers, tape, a grinder, plastic bags and digital scales” in Paredes’s apartment.
Additionally, police also discovered “two clear bags filled with a grayish powder” and a “rectangular brick-shaped package” at the suspect’s residence. The bag and packages reportedly “appeared to contain drugs.”
USA Today reports that Paredes worked closely with Herrera Garcia’s cousin, Caristo Acevedo Brito. Acevedo Brito is the second suspect arrested by authorities,
Additionally, CBS News reports that Paredes was arraigned in federal court on Monday. The suspect has since been charged with “conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.”
The outlet adds that if Paredes is found guilty of his charges, he faces 20 years to life in prison. Furthermore, ABC News reports that Paredes is being held without bail.
As The Shade Room previously reported, Divino Nino Daycare was operating on Friday, September 15, when a two-year-old named Jaziel Lino was taken home that afternoon. At the time, the child’s mother noticed her son was “acting lethargic and unresponsive.” Upon taking the child to the hospital, Lino was given Narcan. According to SAMHSA, the medication is designed to “reverse opioid overdose” and reportedly “saved” the boy’s life.
Later that day, the remaining children at the daycare ate a meal and then took a nap. However, when Mendez woke the children up, she found a two-year-old boy, an eight-month-old girl, and one-year-old Nicholas Dominici “unresponsive.”
This is when Mendez reportedly contacted her husband, Herrera Garcia.
When authorities later arrived, the children were also given Narcan and then transported to Montefiore Medical Center. It was there that Dominici was pronounced deceased.
As The Shade Room previously reported, the daycare had passed inspection a week before the incident.
Additionally, Dominici had only been in the care of the daycare for about a week.
Grei Mendez De Ventura and Caristo Acevedo Brito were arrested that same day. Both individuals have been charged with “murder, assault, and child endangerment” in relation to Nicholas Dominici’s passing.
As authorities investigated the daycare, they reportedly found multiple kilo presses. The object is “used to package large amounts of drugs,” as previously reported by The Shade Room.
Additionally, authorities located a trapdoor containing drugs and other narcotics beneath the area where the children slept, as per The Shade Room.
“Parents entrusted Grei Mendez with the care of their children,” Williams further explained as per USA Today. “As alleged, instead of diligently safeguarding the well-being of those children, she and her co-conspirators put them directly in harm’s way, running a narcotics operation and storing deadly fentanyl out of the very space in which the children ate, slept, and played.”
Mendez’s daycare license has reportedly been suspended as she and her attorney prepare to fight the charges against her. According to CNN, Andres Manuel Aranda informed the outlet that Mendez allegedly had “no previous knowledge of any contraband in the apartment.”
