NEW YORK CITY — A couple has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after they ran a fentanyl trafficking ring that resulted in the death of a toddler in 2023, prosecutors said.
Grei Mendez, 38, and Felix Herrera-Garcia, 37, were found guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree assault in November.
The couple is already serving 45-year sentences in federal prison in connection with the death of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici due to fentanyl exposure at Divino Niño daycare in the Bronx. Three other children were also poisoned in the incident.
A 2-year-old suffered respiratory arrest, A 8-month-old and another 2-year-old suffered acute opioid intoxication.
The state prison sentence is set to run concurrently to the federal sentence, prosecutors said.
“A beautiful little boy died, and three children aged eight months to two years became seriously ill from fentanyl poisoning,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement. “These babies were shields to protect a narcotics operation. Grei Mendez and her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia showed such depravity that they hid fentanyl under the floor where the children took naps. Little Nicholas paid with his life for their greed; now Mendez and Garcia will spend the rest of their days in prison.”