Husband of Bronx Day Care Owner Captured in Mexico

4 suspects have now been arrested in connection with child's death
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 27, 2023 12:00 AM CDT
4th Suspect Arrested in Bronx Day Care Death
In this photo from video, Grei Mendez, center, is escorted by law enforcement personnel from a New York Police station, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in New York.   (WABC-TV via AP)

Police have arrested the husband of the owner of a Bronx day care where a child died after being exposed to fentanyl. Felix Herrera Garcia, who allegedly fled after his wife found the 1-year-old unresponsive, was captured while on a bus in Mexico Tuesday, CNN reports. Mexican authorities and US Drug Enforcement Administration agents took him into custody, and he is now in the custody of US Marshals, awaiting extradition back to New York. Herrera Garcia is the husband of day care owner Grei Mendez, who was arrested right away along with Carlisto Acevedo Brito, her husband's cousin and a tenant of the apartment where the day care was located.

A third person, Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, was taken into custody Saturday, ABC News reports. All four are accused of being mid-level drug distributors. Three other children who attended the day care were hospitalized, and authorities say analysis of the urine of one of the children confirmed the presence of fentanyl, the BBC reports. Authorities say the fully synthetic opioid, up to a hundred times more powerful than morphine, was found underneath a mat the children had napped on. Mendez's attorney says she was not aware drugs were being kept in the apartment, but surveillance footage allegedly shows her calling her husband first before calling 911, and her husband later removing bags that authorities believe contained fentanyl from the residence. (More Bronx stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X