Daycare operator and husband face a terrifying future after using children as ‘shields’ for their unspeakable drug enterprise
Grant Barrett from San Mateo, California, United States is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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A New York City daycare operator and her husband are facing a grim future after being sentenced to 25 years to life in prison this week for the fentanyl poisoning death of a toddler and the severe poisoning of three other young children under their care. Grei Mendez, 38, and Felix Herrera Garcia, 37, received their sentence from Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy on Wednesday, March 4.
According to People, the sentencing follows a jury finding Mendez and Garcia guilty on November 21, 2025. Mendez was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree assault, while Garcia was found guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree assault. These charges stem from a horrific incident that took place on September 15, 2023, at Mendez’s daycare, Divino Niño.
On that tragic day, four children were poisoned by exposure to fentanyl. Among them was 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici, who sadly died. Another 2-year-old child went into respiratory arrest but was revived at a hospital. Two other children, a 2-year-old boy and an 8-month-old girl, also suffered acute opioid intoxication and required hospital treatment.
They prioritized hiding their crime over saving the kids
During the trial, prosecutors revealed the shocking extent of the drug operation happening right where children were supposed to be safe. They noted that “large quantities of fentanyl” were processed at the daycare center, even using kitchen equipment that Mendez also used to prepare the children’s food.
What’s even more infuriating is what Mendez and Garcia did when the children started getting sick. Instead of immediately calling 911 for help, Mendez called her husband. Garcia rushed to the scene and removed the drugs from the home before police and medical responders arrived. Video evidence even showed Garcia “fleeing the building through a back alley” carrying “weighted plastic bags.”
Investigators later found a kilo of fentanyl in a closet at the daycare. Even more horrifying, twelve additional kilos of fentanyl, heroin, and other narcotic substances were discovered under a trap door in the floor of the playroom. This trap door was located “directly below where the children played and slept.”
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark didn’t mince words. She stated, “A beautiful little boy died, and three children aged 8 months to 2 years became seriously ill from fentanyl poisoning. These babies were shields to protect a narcotics operation.”
Clark further emphasized the couple’s actions, saying, “Grei Mendez and her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, showed such depravity that they hid fentanyl under the floor where the children took naps. Little Nicholas paid with his life for their greed; now Mendez and Garcia will spend the rest of their days in prison.”
Mendez and Garcia are already serving 45-year sentences in federal prison for narcotics trafficking that resulted in Dominici’s death. The state prison sentence will run concurrently with their federal sentence.
Published: Mar 5, 2026 03:45 pm