Woman who trafficked fentanyl at NY daycare sentenced to 45 years after string of poisonings

A Bronx daycare owner has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after one child died from fentanyl poisoning and three others were hurt.

Grei Mendez, 37, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl out of the daycare in the Bronx, New York, as well as five years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York announced Monday in a press release.

The sentencing comes after three children died and one died in September 2023 due to fentanyl poisoning while in her care.

Mendez was previously charged with one count of distributing narcotics resulting in death and one count of possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death, according to court documents obtained by Paste BN. She pleaded guilty on Oct. 29, prosecutors said.

Her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, was charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death. Garcia was sentenced to 45 years in October, the attorney's office announced.

Garcia’s cousin, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, lived in the unit where the daycare was housed and was also charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death, court documents show.

Lawyers representing Mendez at the federal level did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Javier A. Solano, a lawyer representing Mendez at the state level, told Paste BN during a phone call Tuesday morning that 45 years is an excessive sentence.

“The job of the court and the job of prosecutors is to dispense justice,” Solano said. “Her husband was given 45 years as well, and somehow they've made it seem that she's equally responsible as her husband.”

Multiple children poisoned, one dead

According to court documents, officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and found that from July 2023 to September 2023, Mendez, her husband and her husband’s cousin worked together to run a drug operation out of Mendez’s business, Divino Niño Daycare.

Fentanyl was stored on top of children’s playmats, as well as in items built to distribute the drugs, the court documents read. 

On Sept. 15, 2023, four children who were all under three years old were at the daycare when they began to get sick, the court documents read. 

Mendez called 911 at 2:40 p.m. that day to report that three children ranging from 8 months to two years old were unresponsive. 

An ambulance came and took them to the hospital, where emergency responders administered Narcan, nasal spray to treat opioid overdose, to two of the children. The 1-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the hospital, court documents show.

Emergency responders tested the urine of one of the children and found that fentanyl was in the child’s system. 

Also that day, about two hours before Mendez called 911, a 1-year-old child went home early. Eventually, the child’s parents noticed the toddler was lethargic and not responsive. The parents called 911, where doctors administered Narcan and the child was hospitalized, court documents show.

Doctors said all four children showed signs of opioid poisoning and some of them improved after doctors administered Narcan, court documents show.

Woman called husband before 911, suspects seen leaving with bags

Once authorities secured a search warrant, they searched the daycare, which was housed in a one-bedroom apartment that included a bedroom, a playroom, a bathroom and a kitchen. 

Authorities found fentanyl, as well as press machines used to package drugs.

“In a hallway closet located near the Daycare bathroom, law enforcement officers found a packaged white, powdery substance weighing approximately one kilogram that field-tested positive for fentanyl,” officials write in the court documents. “The fentanyl was located inside of a bag that was stacked on top of pieces of a children’s playmat.”

Authorities also said in the court documents that before calling 911, Mendez made multiple phone calls. She first called a daycare employee, then called her husband twice. She then called 911, then called her husband twice more.

She was also seen on surveillance footage leaving the property with shopping bags. At one point, she left through the back of the building, which led to an alley.

Surveillance footage also showed her husband minutes before emergency responders arrived. He left the scene with shopping bags, headed towards the alley.

Court documents show Mendez deleted 21,526 messages from an encrypted messaging app on her phone. She had previously used the app to talk to her husband between March 2021 and September 2023.

In some of the recovered messages, Mendez told her husband police were asking about him. He replied and told her to tell the police he was working. She also told him to look for a lawyer.

Mendez spoke with investigators and denied that there were drugs in the daycare. She claimed that kilo presses may have been left there by a previous tenant, court documents show.

Authorities also found evidence that Garcia’s cousin, Acevedo Brito, lived in the unit’s bedroom. Inside the closet, they found a kilo press, which he denied knowing anything about.

Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew Podolsky said Monday in the news release that Mendez put babies in harm’s way.

“They slept, played, and ate in a room where over 11 kilograms of fentanyl was hidden underneath their feet,” he said. “No punishment can make up for a child lost, but today’s sentence sends the message that this Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to bring to justice anyone who uses children as a shield in the drug trade.”

Solano, who represents Mendez at the state level, said he feels badly for the families of the children who were poisoned and the child who died, but 45 years “was excessive” for Mendez’s sentencing.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.