Bronx DA vows day care crackdown after suspected fentanyl killers arraigned

The Bronx district attorney vowed on Thursday to crack down on home day care centers as three people connected to the death of a 1-year-old from fentanyl poisoning were arraigned on second-degree murder charges.

“My investigations division and my detective investigators will look to determine what the gaps are and whether other things are needed to be a part of regulations to make sure that these home day care centers are trustworthy and safe,” said DA Darcel Clark at a press conference. “I’m going to follow the evidence wherever it leads us.”

Earlier in the morning, day care owner Grei Mendez, 36, and her alleged accomplice, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41 appeared in Bronx Supreme Court to be arraigned on an unsealed, 20-count indictment charging them with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree manslaughter, assault and child endangerment in the death of Nicholas Dominici. They pleaded not guilty before Judge Margaret Clancy.

Mendez’s husband, 34-year-old Felix Herrera Garcia, was arraigned later Thursday afternoon after his arrest last week in Mexico. He pleaded not guilty to the same charges and was remanded.

Clark, who called the case “a catastrophe,” was joined at the press conference by Dominici’s father Otoniel Feliz.

Speaking with the help of a Spanish translator, Feliz encouraged other parents to do their own investigating when sending their children to a day care facility.

“Don’t trust the place 100%. Go as a surprise. Open doors. Open cabinets. Check where your children sleep. Check the pillows and mattresses. Because we don’t know,” he said, at times fighting back tears.

Dominici was found unconscious Sept. 15 at the Divino Niño day care center on Morris Avenue after a nap. First responders determined he was suffering from opioid exposure, and he could not be saved. Three other children at the day care were also hospitalized but later recovered.

Feliz said his son had only attended the day care for five days before his death. Despite his own skepticism, Feliz said he and his wife had every reason to trust the center: It had been recommended to the couple by Homebase, a city-sponsored program that helps families at risk of homelessness, and had passed inspection on Dominici’s very first day. Homebase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Feliz said Mendez was a responsive and communicative caretaker to his son.

“Every day, the lady in charge sent text messages to my wife,” Feliz said. “She sent us pictures because my boy was eating … We trusted this day care because everything was going OK. Our son was going happy inside.”

But things inside the day care were not as they seemed, Clark said. Investigators found a kilo of fentanyl in a closet where children’s toys were kept, and later discovered 6 kilos of fentanyl, heroin, and other controlled substances beneath a trap door in the floor, under a padded mat where the kids napped.

Investigators also discovered kilo presses and other drug paraphernalia along with an unopened package of Narcan – a medicine known to reverse opioid overdoses.

“I'm angry. I'm hurt,” Clark said. “Because these people used this as a front, a day care as a front for a drug operation. And they used these babies as a shield in order to run that operation.”

Family members of the three other children who were sickened at the day care were also present in the courtroom as Mendez and Brito were arraigned. Nicholas Dominici’s mother Zoila Dominici, sobbed audibly as the defendants were led in.

Mendez’s family members also attended the proceeding and sat sullenly in the courtroom. Mendez kept her gaze down, wearing a tan prison uniform with her hands and feet in shackles.

Acevedo Brito also appeared shackled and in a tan uniform, and entered his not guilty plea in Spanish.

Both defendants were remanded back to federal custody after the short appearance, and are due back in court on Nov. 27.

A fourth defendant, 38-year-old Bronx resident Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, was arraigned in federal court last week on Monday on charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.

If convicted, Mendez, Brito and Garcia face minimum sentences of 15 to 20 years in prison, according to the DA’s office. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Mendez’s attorney Andres Manuel Aranda said his client continues to maintain her innocence, and claims she didn’t know anything about the drug operation and had no idea where her husband was before his arrest.

“She’s depressed, she’s sad. She’s very sad for herself and the family of the children,” Aranda said.

Attorneys for the other defendants did not take questions after Thursday’s proceedings and did not immediately respond to follow-up inquiries.

This story has been updated with information about Felix Herrera Garcia's arraignment.