A daycare operator has pleaded guilty after a child died of fentanyl poisoning

A woman from New York who ran a kindergarten in the Bronx – equipped with a hatch hiding a large amount of drugs – where a a one-year-old boy died with fentanyl poisoning admitted last year to her involvement in the drug operation that led to his death.

In a Manhattan federal courtroom, Gray Mendes pleaded guilty Tuesday, Oct. 29, to one count of conspiracy to distribute drugs resulting in death and serious bodily injury, and to two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia on Tuesday, Oct. 29. according to her federal court filing.

Noting that parents “expected their children to be protected and safe” at the daycare center, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in statement that her “reprehensible behavior” “resulted in the unnecessary and tragic death” of 1-year-old Nicolas Feliz Dominici and the poisoning of three other young children.

“From the beginning, this case has shown the senseless collateral damage caused by the fentanyl epidemic,” Williams added. “And it should remind us all that the demand for illegal drugs so often puts innocent bystanders at risk while drug traffickers ruthlessly pursue profits.”

Mendez’s sentencing is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on March 3, 2025.

Her lead attorney, David C. Burton, declined to comment to PEOPLE.

On Sept. 15, 2023, three young children, including toddler Nicholas, were rushed from Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx to the hospital after Mendez called 911 and reported them unresponsive, according to an amended complaint obtained by PEOPLE. Nicholas was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The mother of the fourth child, who left daycare early, also took her unresponsive child to a local hospital, where the child was given anesthesia to counteract an opioid overdose.

Ultimately, according to the complaint, investigators determined that before dialing 911, Mendez called her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, who was later named as a co-conspirator. arrested in Mexico and condemned earlier this month to 45 years in prison for dealing fentanyl outside a daycare center.

Moments before emergency crews arrived to take away the unresponsive children — ages 8 months, 1 year and 2 years — surveillance footage shows Herrera Garcia walking into the daycare. Then, about two minutes later, according to this footage cited in the complaint, he walks out of the daycare through a back alley carrying “two utility bags loaded with contents.”

Later, during a search of the daycare, investigators found drugs and several kilogram presses used to package the drugs into kilogram bricks.

Investigators found “a packaged white powdery substance weighing approximately one kilogram that tested positive for fentanyl” in a closet in the hallway near the daycare bathroom, according to the complaint. The package of fentanyl was placed in a vacuum bag “placed on pieces of a children’s play mat.”

Ultimately, investigators seized “100 grams or more of mixtures and substances containing a specified amount of parafluorofentanyl, a fentanyl analog,” as well as “400 grams or more of mixtures and substances containing a specified amount of fentanyl,” and “one kilogram or more of mixtures and substances , containing a specified amount of heroin,” said the four-page superseding indictment filed in the case.

The case sparked public concern when city inspectors admitted they had conducted a a “surprise” visit. to the daycare earlier that month, finding it fully compliant with a 40-point checklist, including proper storage of “all medications, toxic substances,” officials said at a news conference in September 2023 after Nicholas’ death and covered The New York Times.

“I’m very sorry, but one of the things my child care inspectors are not trained to do is look for fentanyl,” Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city’s health commissioner, said at a news conference, noting at the time that the inspectors were not trained to search for synthetic opioids.

“But maybe we need to start,” the commissioner added.

The case of Mendez’s cousin, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, who is also accused in the case, is still pending. On October 12, 2023, he entered a plea of ​​not guilty to the federal charges, according to his online court filing.