The owner has pleaded guilty to federal charges

Gray Mendes pleaded guilty in Manhattan to federal charges including conspiracy to distribute drugs resulting in death.

The owner of a kindergarten in New York, where a A 1-year-old child died of fentanyl poisoning and three other children were hospitalized, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges, officials said.

Gray Mendes pleaded guilty in Manhattan to charges including conspiracy to distribute drugs resulting in death, possession with intent to distribute drugs resulting in death and possession with intent to distribute drugs resulting in serious bodily injury, according to the Office US Attorney. for the Southern District of New York. She faces at least 20 years in prison with the possibility of life in prison.

Mendez’s plea comes more than a year after four children were hospitalized with suspected fentanyl poisoning at Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx. One-year-old Nicholas Dominici died at the hospital, while three other children under the age of 3 recovered after being administered the overdose-reducing drug, Narcan.

Prosecutors charged Mendez with her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, and a co-conspirator in the management surgery with fentanyl in day care. Earlier this month, Herrera Garcia was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug charges.

Rennie “El Gallo” Parra Paredes was charged as an accomplice and pleaded guilty at the end of May in conspiracy to distribute narcotics and stipulated that his conduct caused death and grievous bodily harm. Herrera Garcia’s cousin, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, has also been charged in connection with the case.

“Gray Mendes has just pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute large quantities of dangerously toxic fentanyl at a Bronx daycare where parents hoped their children would be protected and safe,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Tuesday. “From the start, this case has shown the senseless collateral damage caused by the fentanyl epidemic and should remind us all that the demand for illegal drugs so often puts innocent bystanders at risk while drug traffickers ruthlessly pursue profits.”

What Happened at a Kindergarten in the Bronx?

On September 15, 2023, NYPD officers responded to reports of unconscious children at a daycare center. Three children—an 8-month-old girl and two boys, 1 and 2 years old—were insensitive.

All three children were administered Narcan after first responders determined they had signs of drug overdose. The two children recovered, but Dominici died in hospital.

Another 2-year-old boy, who was sent home before police arrived, survived after his mother noticed he was “lethargic and unresponsive” and hospitalized him, authorities said at the time.

Prior to the incident, the daycare had undergone three routine Department of Health inspections, including an annual surprise search, which found no violations. Police also said they had received no complaints from the community related to “drug dealing” at the center.

But further investigation revealed that it contained more than eleven kilograms of fentanyl and heroin secret compartments located under the floor of the center where, according to the prosecutors, “children played, ate and slept every day.”

Police said in court filings that a kilogram of fentanyl was also found on play mats in a closet, and concealed drug paraphernalia, including Red Star-branded parchment envelopes, were found on the floor. The same brand was found in the apartment where Parra Paredes lived, along with other drug stashes, according to court documents.

The owner of the kindergarten is accused of trying to cover up a drug operation

Prosecutors said the drug operation had been going on since around October 2022. Between about July 2023 and September 2023, the four suspects conspired to distribute fentanyl to a daycare center Mendez kicked out of a Bronx apartment, according to court documents. .

In court filings, prosecutors said Mendez and Brito, who rented a bedroom at the center, tried to cover up a drug operation as the children suffered from fentanyl exposure. According to the criminal complaint, Mendez called Herrera Garcia and Parry Paredes before calling 911 when she discovered the children had been exposed.

Prosecutors said minutes before emergency crews arrived at the center, surveillance video showed Herrera Garcia smuggling shopping bags out of a dead-end alley. Prosecutors also accused Mendez of deleting about 21,526 messages between her and Herrera Garcia from the encrypted messaging app.

Authorities had been looking for Herrera Garcia for weeks before he was detained on a bus in Sinaloa by Mexican authorities and agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to reports at the time.

The incident caused a public outcry

The incident prompted increased inspections of day care centers in New York and outstanding reputation checks for childcare facilities. Health officials at the time said workers at the Bronx day care center were tested.

At an oversight hearing last year, New York City Council members questioned how those employees were able to pass background checks and whether the backlog in the approval process had anything to do with it. The reports showed that 140 inspections of preschools and employees were not completed in the city.

After that incident, New York City officials promised to protect children after other incidents at children’s facilities caused a public outcry. A few weeks after the incident at the Bronx kindergarten, three people were detained after “ghost guns” and a 3D printer were taken from an unlocked room at a state-licensed daycare center.

“It’s a heartbreaking scenario when you think you’re dropping your child off in a safe place only to find out it was an unsafe environment,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference on September 27, 2023. We will work together, we clearly understand that we have to protect the children in this city.”

Co-author: Jeanine Santucci and Zachary ShermeleUSA TODAY