Husband of N.Y.C. Daycare Owner Charged in Toddler’s Fentanyl Death Reportedly Arrested in Mexico

Felix Herrera Garcia was reportedly seen leaving the back of the daycare with bags authorities believe to have contained drugs just minutes before first responders arrived

Felix Herrera Garcia, the husband of the woman who owned a daycare in the Bronx where a toddler recently died as a result of suspected fentanyl exposure, was taken into custody in Mexico, law enforcement sources told The New York Post, CNN and CBS New York.

“Pursuant to an ongoing investigation, a POI was taken into custody in Mexico," a New York Police Department spokesperson told PEOPLE Tuesday.

Related: Nashville Mom Charged with Murder after Her Toddler Dies of Fentanyl Intoxication

Herrera Garcia, the husband of Grei Mendez, was found by authorities while on a bus headed to Sinaloa, the Post reports. The U.S. Marshals Service reportedly tracked Herrera Garcia to Texas after first receiving a tip about him allegedly hiding in Mexico, sources told the Post.

According to allegations made by federal prosecutors, Mendez called Herrera Garcia twice back-to-back after finding several children unresponsive at the Divino Niño — or “Divine Child” — daycare on Morris Avenue in the Bronx on Sept. 15 before calling 911.

Herrera Garcia, who is believed to be a co-conspirator, was reportedly captured on surveillance video exiting the back of the daycare in question just minutes before first responders arrived.

CNN reports that in the surveillance footage, Herrera Garcia was allegedly holding plastic bags that investigators believed contained fentanyl after the children became unconscious.

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A 1-year-old, Nicholas Feliz Dominici, died at Divino Niño and three other young children were immediately hospitalized.

During a press conference with NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams stated that four children at the daycare “appeared to have come in contact with an opioid that led to hospitalization for three of the children, and one child is DOA — died — from this interaction.”

Mendez, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, and Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, were arrested as part of the alleged conspiracy, CNN reports. They and Herrera Garcia are believed to be mid-level drug distributors, a federal law enforcement officer previously told CNN.

A trapdoor leading to narcotics was also found after Nicholas’ death, police said on Sept. 21.

“As part of an ongoing overdose fatality investigation in a Bronx daycare center on 9/15/23, a search warrant was conducted by @NYPDDetectives,” a tweet from the department stated last week. “A large quantity of Fentanyl, other narcotics, & drug paraphernalia was recovered in a trap floor in the play area at the daycare center."

It’s “horrible that drugs were found in a place where children are cared for,” Nicholas’s father, Otoniel Feliz told The New York Times. He added, "[How] does it make sense that you’re going to mix narcotics with children?”

Related: Death of 2-Year-Old Maryland Girl Ruled Homicide by Fentanyl Intoxication

The commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, said that the “home-based childcare site,” which opened in January, had no violations.

Last week, a New York City grand jury voted to indict Mendez and Brito, CNN said.

Mendez and Brito were also charged in state court with murder, manslaughter, assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to court documents.

On Monday, Parra Paredes was charged in federal court in Manhattan with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.

PEOPLE was unable to immediately reach Mendez’s attorney for comment.

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