KINGSBRIDGE, BRONX (WABC) — Two suspects have been charged and a third is wanted in connection with a fatal fentanyl exposure at a Bronx day care center.
Emergency crews were called to the Divino Nino Day Care Center at 2707 Morris Ave. in Kingsbridge on Friday afternoon for reports of a cardiac arrest.
Suspected drug production equipment found inside a family day care center resulted in the death of 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici and the hospitalization of three other young children.
Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, and Grei Mendez, 36, were charged with 11 counts of murder, manslaughter and assault. It’s unclear when their arraignment will take place because Mendez was taken to the hospital. Police are still searching for Mendez’s husband.
Officials said Brito was a tenant who rented a room from Mendez. Authorities said Brito was the cousin of Mendez’s husband.
“She had no idea what was in that closet — she called the police. If you knew there was fentanyl in your apartment, would you have called the police?” said Mendez’s attorney, Andres Aranda.
Law enforcement officials said the day care center was operated out of a converted apartment building. Police discovered a kilogram press while executing a search warrant inside the store.
“This is a common item used by drug dealers when packaging large quantities of drugs,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney said at a news conference overnight.
Officials said the children who stayed at the day care center ate something and took a nap around 1 p.m. Friday. At 2:30 pm, when the staff went to wake them up, the three were unconscious. Dominici was pronounced dead at Montefiore.
A two-year-old boy is in critical condition. An eight-month-old girl and another two-year-old boy were also taken to hospital.
Investigators believe the children were chronically exposed to unknown opioids. Doctors will collect urine and blood from the surviving children to try to find out what drugs they were exposed to.
In fact, the two-year-old boy returned home at around 12.15pm on Friday and was later found by his mother “acting drowsy and unresponsive”. His mother rushed him to the hospital, where the opioid reversal drug naloxone saved his life.
The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine Dominici’s cause of death.
“I love him, I miss him, I want him back, but nothing can bring me back my son. When I come home from get off work and walk in the door, he’s like ‘Dad, Daddy!'” Otoniel said. Feliz.
With tears in his eyes and a heavy heart, Feliz is mourning and thinking about how he lost his son in a place he thought was safe.
“My wife was on her way to day care. She had planned to pick him up early. Shortly before she arrived, she got the call and saw the ambulance,” Feliz added.
The day care center, which serves children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old, opened as recently as January and passed a surprise inspection by city inspectors last week, finding no violations.
After removing the children from the day care center, the fire department tested the air for environmental hazards and found no signs of carbon monoxide. Officers then became suspicious of opioid exposure and executed search warrants in rooms, cabinets and other spaces where the drug packaging device was found.
A grand jury is scheduled to convene Thursday. The second defendant, the tenant, was awaiting trial Sunday night.
New York City Resources for Parents or Caregivers: Choosing Child Care in New York City
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