Police find more fentanyl in trap floor at Bronx day care where baby died

Nicholas Dominici, 1, died on Friday and three other children were hospitalized.

ByAaron Katersky and Emily Shapiro
September 21, 2023, 3:45 PM

Police said they've found a trap floor with drugs in the play area of a New York City day care where a 1-year-old boy died following exposure to fentanyl.

Nicholas Dominici, 1, died on Friday and three other children, ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years, were hospitalized and treated with Narcan and are now recovering, police said. An analysis of urine from one of the victims confirmed the presence of fentanyl, officials said.

PHOTO: Police at the scene on Sept. 15, 2023, where at least one child died as a result of coming into contact with a poisonous substance at a day care center in the Bronx section of New York.
Police at the scene on Sept. 15, 2023, where at least one child died as a result of coming into contact with a poisonous substance at a day care center in the Bronx section of New York.
New York Daily News via Getty Images

Authorities searched the Bronx day care again on Wednesday night and Thursday following a tip they received about a trap door in the floor, law enforcement sources familiar with the case told ABC News.

In the trap floor, investigators found fentanyl, other narcotics and drug paraphernalia, the NYPD confirmed.

PHOTO: Police said they've found a trap floor with drugs in the play area of a day care where a 1-year-old boy died following exposure to fentanyl.
Police said they've found a trap floor with drugs in the play area of a day care where a 1-year-old boy died following exposure to fentanyl.
New York Police Department
PHOTO: Police said they've found a trap floor with drugs in the play area of a day care where a 1-year-old boy died following exposure to fentanyl.
Police said they've found a trap floor with drugs in the play area of a day care where a 1-year-old boy died following exposure to fentanyl.
New York Police Department

Investigators had already found a kilo of fentanyl stored on kids' play mats, along with a device to press drugs into bricks for sale, according to court records.

Grei Mendez, the operator of the day care, and her tenant, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, are in federal custody on charges of narcotics possession with intent to distribute resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death. They've been held without bail.

PHOTO: Evidence from the Bronx day care where a kilogram of fentanyl was stored on top of play mats used for napping, where the child died and three other children were overcome on Sept. 15, 2023, in New York.
Evidence from the Bronx day care where a kilogram of fentanyl was stored on top of play mats used for napping, where the child died and three other children were overcome on Sept. 15, 2023, in New York.
Courtesy DEA and the US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York
PHOTO: A kilo press, part of the evidence from the Bronx day care where a kilogram of fentanyl was stored on top of children’s play mats used for napping, where the child died and three other children were overcome on Sept. 15, 2023, in New York.
A kilo press, part of the evidence from the Bronx day care where a kilogram of fentanyl was stored on top of children’s play mats used for napping, where the child died and three other children were overcome on Sept. 15, 2023, in New York.
Courtesy DEA and the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York

Mendez and Brito were initially arrested on state charges including murder. The state case has been continued to Oct. 5.

They were indicted by a grand jury on Thursday, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.

PHOTO: Grei Mendez, a suspect in the day care death of Nicholas Dominici, was taken from the NYPD 52nd Precinct in the Bronx, New York, Sept. 17, 2023.
Grei Mendez, a suspect in the day care death of Nicholas Dominici, was taken from the NYPD 52nd Precinct in the Bronx, New York, Sept. 17, 2023.
New York Daily News via Getty Images
PHOTO: Carlisto Acevedo-Brito, a suspect in the day care death of 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici, was taken from the NYPD 52nd Precinct in the Bronx on Sept. 17, 2023.
Carlisto Acevedo-Brito, a suspect in the day care death of 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici, was taken from the NYPD 52nd Precinct in the Bronx on Sept. 17, 2023.
Theodore Parisienne for NY Daily News via Getty Images

Mendez’s attorney said she was unaware drugs were being stored in her day care by Brito, her husband's cousin, to whom she was renting a room for $200 a week.

A search is ongoing for Mendez’s husband, who, according to court records, was seen on video fleeing the day care out of a back alley carrying two trash bags.

The day care was licensed on May 16 by the state’s Office of Children and Family Services, according to public records. It's listed as having a capacity for eight children from 6 weeks old to 12 years old.

City health inspectors conducted a surprise inspection of the facility on Sept. 6 and did not find any violations, according to City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan.

"I'm very sorry, but one of the things that my child care inspectors are not trained to do is look for fentanyl. But maybe they need to," Vasan said at a news conference Monday.

PHOTO: Police and federal drug agents returned Thursday to the Bronx daycare where a one year died and three other children had to be revived with naloxone following exposure to fentanyl to search for hidden drugs.
Police and federal drug agents returned Thursday to the Bronx daycare where a one year died and three other children had to be revived with naloxone following exposure to fentanyl to search for hidden drugs.
WABC

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