Photo: CBS 12
A Lake Worth couple has pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of a baby.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced 32-year old Samantha Yi's guilty plea yesterday. Her boyfriend, 31-year old Darnell Mendez had already pleaded guilty in July.
The charges came after a more than two-year investigation that was sparked by the death of a baby whose mother purchased the fentanyl from the couple back in March of 2022.
Investigators determined that the baby girl had accidentally ingested the fatal drugs in the kitchen of her family's Boynton Beach apartment. The infant's mother was arrested by Boynton Beach Police for aggravated manslaughter of a child.
During that investigation, officials linked Yi and Mendez to the drugs that claimed the life of the baby. Undercover agents arrested the couple after purchasing fentanyl from them and 14 guns were discovered inside their home, so as part of the plea agreement both Yi and Mendez admitted to being felons unlawfully possessing firearms.
They both face at least 20 years in prison with a maximum of life. Mendez will be sentenced next month, no sentencing date has been set yet for Yi.