Leader of New York narcotics factory that doubled as daycare center is convicted after fentanyl overdose on year-old boy

The leader of a drug factory who operated out of his wife’s daycare has learned his fate after the death of a one-year-old boy who overdosed on fentanyl in her care.

Felix Herrera Garcia, 35, was sentenced Wednesday to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal drug charges, WABC reported.

Nicholas Feliz Dominici died on September 15, 2023, after being exposed to fentanyl at the Divino Niño Daycare Center in the Bronx – owned by Garcia’s wife, Grei Mendez.

Prosecutors said the couple used the daycare as a drug factory at least from October 2022 and that Dominici had only been enrolled there for a week before he died.

“I can tell you something for sure: Celebrating your child’s birthday in a cemetery is not easy,” the boy’s mother, Zoila Dominici, said at the sentencing, according to the New York Post.

Felix Herrera Garcia (pictured), 35, was sentenced Wednesday to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal drug charges

Nicholas Feliz Dominici (pictured), 1, died after being exposed to fentanyl at the Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx, where Garcia and his wife ran a drug factory

Garcia fled to Mexico after the toddler’s death. Photos show him leaving the daycare through the back door and then running away.

Mendez reportedly called her husband twice and then deleted more than 21,000 messages before alerting authorities to the unresponsive children.

Dominici was pronounced dead at the scene, while two two-year-old boys and an eight-month-old girl were rescued with the overdose drug Narcan.

“I know my apology today may not mean anything, but to me it matters a lot,” Garcia said at his sentencing.

‘I know this won’t be easy, but I ask if they can ever forgive me. I have nightmares about what happened that day.”

In the aftermath, photos shared by police showed bags full of powder in the ‘trap floor’, steps away from a shelf of children’s toys.

Police found controlled substances under the daycare floor, under a padded mat where children napped

No previous complaints had been made against Divino Nino Daycare (photo) and these were the first weeks that the boys were registered there

Garcia fled to Mexico after the toddler’s death, and photos show him leaving the daycare through the back door

According to the investigation, one kilo of fentanyl was found in a closet in the daycare, and six kilos of fentanyl, heroin and other controlled substances under the floor, under a padded mat where children napped.

Police also found multiple devices used by traffickers to mix drugs and press them into bricks.

According to reports, no previous complaints have been filed against Divino Nino daycare center.

The childcare facility had a capacity for eight children ranging in age from six weeks to 12 years old, the data shows.

Nicholas’ heartbroken father, Otoniel Feliz, 32, told DailyMail.com it was the boy’s first week at daycare.

‘We received a good recommendation. We were told it was a great place. It looked like a nice place,” he explained.

Nicholas Feliz Dominici (photo), 1, died on September 15, 2023 at Divino Niño Daycare

But within a week of being cared for at daycare, Nicholas was taking fentanyl – a substance that has caused a spike in overdoses in the US.

The couple was charged along with Garcia’s cousin Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, and Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, who is suspected of narcotics distribution.

Mendez and Brito’s cases are still pending and they have both pleaded not guilty. Paredes has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.