NYC day care owner arrested after 1-year-old dies, others sickened after opioid exposure
NEW YORK — The owner of a New York City day care center and a tenant living in the building are under arrest after a 1-year-old boy died and three other young children were sickened by what officials described as apparent exposure to opioids.
The two were arrested Saturday, one day after authorities discovered the four children — 8 months to 2 years old — showing signs of suspected opioid overdose after spending time at the Bronx day care center, Divino Niño.
Nicholas Dominici, 1, was pronounced dead at a hospital. The three others were revived after medics administered doses of the overdose-reversing drug Narcan, authorities said.
On Saturday evening, police arrested the owner of the facility, Grei Mendez, 36, and a building tenant, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, on suspicion of depraved indifference murder, assault and criminal possession of narcotics, including fentanyl.
The FDA has approved over-the-counter sales of opioid overdose antidote naloxone, the first such drug to become available without a prescription.
Dominici’s cause of death remains under investigation by the city’s medical examiner.
Police say they found a kilo press — a device used to package large quantities of drugs — after executing a search warrant on the day care center, a home-based operation that opened in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx this year.
Nicholas’ parents, Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Feliz, said their child had started attending the center only a week ago.
“He was so intelligent. He would repeat everything you would say to him,” Dominici told the station. “He had so much love. Everyone who knew him appreciated him, all of our neighbors.”
A survey finds that families aren’t talking about the dangers of fentanyl because they don’t know a lot about it. Here’s how to start the conversation at home.
New York City, like much of the country, has seen rising levels of opioid-related deaths, with the vast majority of fatalities now attributed to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be more than 50 times stronger than heroin.
At a news conference Saturday, Mayor Eric Adams said Nicholas’ death underscored challenges the city faces in its fight against opioids.
“This crisis is real, and it is a real wake‑up call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes,” Adams said. “The mere contact is deadly for an adult, and it’s extremely deadly for a child.”
Studies have shown that young people are increasingly dying from unintentional drug overdoses, with opioids now the most common substances contributing to fatal poisonings among young children.
Deaths from drug overdoses rose dramatically in zip codes encompassing Skid Row, from 13 in 2017 to 148 in 2022.
In instances in which children were exposed to opioids, nearly all were found to have involved children who orally ingested the substance, rather than touching or inhaling it, according to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Authorities have not indicated how they believe the children came in contact with the drug.
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