Husband of N.Y.C. Daycare Owner Charged in Toddler’s Fentanyl Death Reportedly Arrested in Mexico

Felix Herrera Garcia, the husband of the woman who owned a Bronx daycare center where a toddler recently died from suspected fentanyl exposure, has been taken into custody in Mexico, police sources said. New York PostCNN and CBS New York.

“Pursuant to the ongoing investigation, the POI was taken into custody in Mexico,” an NYPD spokesperson told PEOPLE on Tuesday.

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Herrera Garcia, the husband of Grea Mendez, was found by the authorities while he was on a bus going to Sinaloa, Fast reports. The U.S. Marshals Service reportedly tracked Herrera Garcia to Texas after first receiving a tip that he was allegedly hiding in Mexico, sources said Fast.

According to federal prosecutors, Mendez called Herrera Garcia twice in quick succession after finding several children unresponsive at the Divino Niño — or “Divine Child” — nursery on Morris Avenue in the Bronx on Sept. 15 before calling 911.

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Herrera Garcia, who is believed to be an accomplice, was allegedly caught on surveillance video walking out the back of the daycare in question just minutes before the first 911 arrived.

CNN reports that surveillance footage showed Herrera Garcia allegedly holding plastic bags that investigators believed contained fentanyl after the children were knocked unconscious.

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One-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici died at Divino Niño, and three other young children were immediately hospitalized.

During a news conference with NYPD Commissioner Edward Cabana and NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny on Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said four children at the daycare “appear to have come into contact with an opioid that resulted in the hospitalization of three children. , and one child is DOA — dead — from this interaction.”

Grei Mendez (center), the suspect in the death of 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici at a Bronx daycare.

Theodore Parisienne for NY Daily News via Getty

Mendez, Carlisto Acevedo Brito (41) and Renny Antonio Parra Paredes (38) were arrested as part of the alleged conspiracy, reports CNN. They and Herrera Garcia are believed to be mid-level drug distributors, a law enforcement official told CNN.

A lid leading to the narcotics was also found after Nicholas’ death, police said on September 21.

“As part of the ongoing investigation into the overdose death at a Bronx daycare on September 15, 23, a search warrant was executed @NYPDDetectives“, the department tweeted last week. “A large amount of fentanyl, other narcotics, and drug paraphernalia was found in the floor of a trap in the daycare play area.”

“It’s terrible that drugs were found in a place where children are taken care of,” said Nicholas’ father, Otoniel Feliz The New York Times. He added, “[How] does it make sense that you would mix narcotics with children?”

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New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said the “home child care site,” which opened in January, had no violations.

Nikola Feliz Dominici.

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Last week, a New York grand jury voted to indict Mendez and Brito, CNN reported.

Mendez and Brito were also charged in state court with murder, manslaughter, assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to court documents.

On Monday, Parra Paredes was charged in federal court in Manhattan with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.

PEOPLE was not immediately able to reach Mendez’s attorney for comment.

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