Lengthy prison sentence for man in fentanyl-related Bronx day care death

BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) — A man was sentenced to 45 years in prison related to the death of a 1-year-old who was poisoned with fentanyl at a Bronx day care .

“I trust, your honor, you will do justice for my son,” the boy’s father, Otoniel Feliz, said. “We will have to learn how to live with this as a family.”

Felix Herrera Garcia previously pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl out of the day care center . He was sentenced on Wednesday.

The fentanyl scheme led to the 2023 death of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici and sent three other children to the hospital with fentanyl poisoning, prosecutors said.

“I have been grieving for the last year, month, and one day,” said Zoila Dominici, the mother of the boy. “I could not imagine what my son was going through in his last moments.”

Herrera Garcia is accused of storing narcotics in the day care center on top of playmats and under the floor, according to prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He was the fourth person to be charged in the drug-related scheme. Prosecutors said he fled the day care center and was apprehended by Mexican authorities. Among the others charged is Herrera Garcia’s wife, Grei Mendez, who worked at the day care.

Authorities say they found a kilogram of fentanyl at the day care. When the children became sick, Mendez first called Herrera Garcia before 911. Herrera Garcia removed bags of materials from the day care before authorities arrived, officials said. Mendez then lied to police about his whereabouts.

Another man charged in the incident, Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, also pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to distribute narcotics and causing the 1-year-old’s death, prosecutors said.

Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter from Los Angeles who has covered New York City since 2023. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here .

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