A taped package containing several thousand dollars worth of Fentanyl was discovered inside a New York City day care center where a 1-year-old child died of an opioid overdose last week. The owner of the day care center, Grei Mendez, pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Nicholas Dominici. Another individual, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, is also awaiting arraignment on the same charges.
Police found approximately one kilogram of Fentanyl and a press device for combining drugs inside the closet of a hallway connected to the apartment where the day care center was located. Another press device was found in the adjoining room occupied by Brito. Grei Mendez’s attorney claimed that Mendez lived above the day care center and rented a room to Brito.
The incident occurred on a “normal day” at the day care center, according to Mendez’s attorney. The children were brought upstairs, read to, cooked for, and put to sleep. However, when Dominici did not wake up from his nap, Mendez called 911 in a state of terror.
In addition to Dominici, an 8-month-old girl and a 2-year-old boy also showed signs of opioid intoxication and were administered Narcan by medics. The cause and manner of Dominici’s death are still pending further study, according to the city’s medical examiner’s office.
The discovery of Fentanyl in a day care center has raised concerns about the potential for unintentional drug overdoses among children. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is significantly stronger than heroin, has become a primary driver of overdose deaths, and illegal versions of the drug are often mixed with other substances. According to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, the majority of childhood opioid overdoses occur when the substance is ingested orally.
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