WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — According to the United States Department of Justice, Darnell Mendez, 36, of Palm Beach County has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that led to the death of a 10-month-old infant in Boynton Beach in 2022 and for possession of firearms as a convicted felon.
Mendez and his girlfriend, Samantha Yi, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to the distribution of fentanyl after the baby's mother purchased the drug that was later ingested by the baby, resulting in the infant's death.
Region C Palm Beach County
How this couple was caught after baby died from fentanyl
In March 2022, PBSO responded to a 911 call of an infant in distress and transported the baby to Bethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach with her mother, Kelly Kirwan. The baby died in April 2022 after being transferred to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood.
The autopsy report determined the baby's death was caused by fentanyl intoxication and that the manner of death was a homicide.
An investigation conducted by the Boynton Beach Police Department (BBPD) concluded the baby's parents were addicts and were regularly abusing fentanyl in the kitchen of their apartment. The baby was teething and ingested fentanyl while in the care of Kirwan.
Through data received from Kirwan's cell phone, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was able to identify Yi as the drug dealer. The investigation further determined that Mendez was also involved in the distribution of fentanyl.
The DEA, ATF, BBPD and PBSO conducted an undercover operation involving two officers who purchased fentanyl from Yi and Mendez, culminating in their arrests at their Lake Worth residence.
Law enforcement also discovered 14 firearms in the residence, resulting in Yi and Mendez also pleading guilty for unlawful possession of firearms.
Kirwan, who was 32 at the time, was arrested by the BBPD and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child by culpable negligence.
Boynton Beach
Boynton woman arrested after infant ingests fentanyl, dies, authorities say
Yi is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2025, and faces a minimum mandatory sentence of at least 20 years in prison.
