Florida Drug Dealer Charged in Child’s Death Gets 30 Years

The world is a better place today after the sentencing of Darnell Mendez.

Mendez was arrested for the death of an infant who died in 2022.

He has been sentenced to 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

He’s a Bad Man

Mendez’s girlfriend, Samantha Yi, pleaded guilty along with Mendez in the death of the infant.

Authorities were called to a home on March 31, 2022, regarding an infant in distress.

The first responders arrived, they found an 11-month-old child who had taken fentanyl.

The child died five days later, with the autopsy confirming the child had ingested fentanyl, with the local medical examiner ruling the death a homicide.

Both parents were confirmed drug addicts, and they had fentanyl around the apartment.

The report on the child’s death stated, “It was also learned that the baby was teething and had ingested the fentanyl while in the care of her mother and while her father was at work.

“The mother was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child by culpable negligence.”

The DEA assisted in the investigation, tracking down the drug deals made by the parents to Yi, with the last transaction taking place on March 30, one day before the baby ingested the fentanyl.

Yi stands to do 20 years, with her sentencing just after the new year.

Mendez was also found to have been active in the distribution of the drug, hence why he was also charged in the case.

Authorities stated that with Mendez’s previous record, which included violent crime offenses and controlled substance violations, he would likely qualify as a career criminal.

Fentanyl has become a major topic of discussion over the last decade, more so over the last four years when illegal immigration has allowed more of the substance into the country.

Over the last several years, there have been more than 70,000 deaths related to fentanyl in this country per year, compared to slightly more than 36,000 in 2019.