New York, NY – The New York Police Department (NYPD) has arrested the owner of a nursery in the city and a tenant of the building where it is located, following the death of a one-year-old child who was given a lethal dose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin.
New York police have arrested a woman and her neighbor-Image Source: New York Post
According to CBS News, the arrests came after four children, ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years, showed signs of opioid overdose while at the nursery.
Nicholas Dominici, the one-year-old, was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Authorities said the three other children were saved after they were given Narcan, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
On Saturday evening, police arrested the nursery owner, Grei Menendez, 36, and building tenant, Carlos Asevedo Preto, 41, on charges of murder, assault, and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Menendez claimed she was not aware of any drugs in the building.
A #NewYork woman is facing murder and drug charges after a one-year-old boy died from fentanyl poisoning at the #daycare she operated and three other children became seriously ill, officials said Tuesday.
Grei Mendez, 36, was arrested over the weekend after emergency paramedics… pic.twitter.com/zrTYfUG8FD— KUWAIT TIMES (@kuwaittimesnews) September 20, 2023
New York police have arrested a woman and her neighbor after a one-year-old boy died from exposure to fentanyl at the daycare she ran. Police said a large quantity of fentanyl was found at the facility, including a kilogram of the drug left on top of a children’s play mat. pic.twitter.com/rWg7Qd0EGY
— Bnz English (@BnzEnglish) September 20, 2023
Police said they found a package containing fentanyl worth thousands of dollars, as well as a hydraulic press used to package large quantities of drugs, during a search warrant execution at the nursery.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a press conference on Monday evening that the drugs were found in the room where the children were taking naps.
The nursery had opened in January of this year, and authorities said it had passed two inspections, including a surprise visit by inspectors earlier this month.
One resident said it was “clear that the nursery was being used as a front for drug trafficking.”
“For a long time, there were no kids in that nursery, so we knew something was up,” the resident told the New York Post.
The parents of the deceased child, Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Velez, said their son had only been going to the nursery for a week.
“My child was very smart, and he could repeat every word that was said to him,” the mother said. “He was loved by everyone.”
