A third person has been charged in the death a 1-year-old boy became sick and later died from apparent opioid exposure at a Bronx day care, authorities said Monday.
Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, of the Bronx, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death, according to a joint-statement from Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the New York City Police Department.
Parra Paredes conspired to distribute fentanyl from at least July to earlier this month, including at the “Divino Niño” day care in the Bronx, authorities said.
It was not clear Monday night if Parra Paredes had an attorney.
Officials say Parra Paredes and his co-conspirators kept large quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl, on top of playmats and in hidden in “traps” in the floor of the room where the children played and slept.
If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison to a maximum sentence of life in prison, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Williams said in the statement Parra Paredes’ arrest “is one more step toward obtaining justice for the child-victims of this heinous offense and their families.”
Grei Mendez, 36, the owner of the day care, and Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, have been federally charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and possession with intent to distribute.
Mendez and Acevedo Brito also face charges in state court including murder, manslaughter, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
On Sept. 15, four children fell ill, and one later died, from fentanyl exposure at the day care, authorities said.
NYPD has said that officers discovered three children between 8 months and 2 years old “unconscious and unresponsive.”
The children were administered Narcan, the opioid overdose antidote. Nicholas Dominici, 1, died at a hospital, police said. A fourth child, a 2-year-old boy who was also administered Narcan, was taken to a hospital by his mother, police said.