N.Y. day care owners sentenced to 25 years for toddler’s fatal fentanyl overdose

NEW YORK (TCN) -- A husband and wife who operated a home day care center as a front for a narcotics operation have been sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with the fatal fentanyl overdose of a toddler in their care.  

The Office of the Bronx County District Attorney announced 38-year-old Grei Mendez, the day care’s operator, and her husband, 37-year-old Felix Herrera Garcia, were sentenced March 4 for the accidental death of 22-month-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici on Sept. 15, 2023, as well as the exposure of three other children to drugs. 

According to Norwood News, on Nov. 21, 2025, Mendez was found guilty of a state charge of first-degree assault and Herrera Garcia of a state charge of second-degree assault. The outlet reports the couple had previously pleaded guilty in federal court on separate related charges.

The center, Divino Niño Daycare, was licensed, according to Norwood News. In addition to Dominici, three other children were exposed to fentanyl and treated on the scene and at the hospital: 2-year-old Abel Garcia, his sister 8-month-old Kiara Garcia, and Jaziel Lino, age 2. 

Large amounts of fentanyl were processed within the day care, Norwood News reports, on kitchen equipment used to prepare the children’s food. 

According to the DA’s office, after the children became sick, Mendez reportedly called her husband before calling 911 to have him remove drugs and paraphernalia from the center. Video footage showed Herrera Garcia walking down an alley with weighted bags before authorities arrived. Twelve kilos of fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs were found under the floorboards directly beneath the children’s playroom and where they slept. Drugs were also found in the closet and in the apartment. 

At the sentencing, Otoniel Feliz, Dominici’s father, spoke, Spectrum 1 News reports. He said, “That beautiful smile you see, on that picture right here, that was Nicholas every day. And those people [took] his life, his rights, away from him.”

According to Norwood News, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said, “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.”

Mendez and Herrera are currently serving 45 years in federal prison in connection with narcotics trafficking resulting in Domenici’s death; their state prison sentences will run concurrently, Norwood News reports.

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