A third person has been charged in the death of a toddler apparently poisoned by fentanyl inside a New York City daycare centre, authorities said as the search continued for the alleged ringleader of the drug peddling operation.
Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, was charged with narcotics distribution resulting in death on Monday, 10 days after authorities discovered four young children showing signs of opioid exposure at a Bronx daycare centre. One of those children, 1-year-old Nicholas Dominci, was pronounced dead last Friday.
Federal prosecutors said Paredes, who also went by “El Gallo”, played an “instrumental role” in selling large quantities of fentanyl and other drugs that were packaged and stored inside the daycare facility – including on mats used by children for sleeping.
“Today’s arrest is one more step toward obtaining justice for the child-victims of this heinous offense and their families,” Manhattan US Attorney Damien Williams said in a statement.