LI Infant Nearly Dies Of Fentanyl Poisoning; Woman Killed; 2 Indicted: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A man was indicted in connection with the near-fatal fentanyl overdose of an infant and, weeks later, the fatal overdose of a woman — and a second man, the child's father, was also charged in connection with his son's near-death experience, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Monday.

Robert Mauro, 39, of Miller Place, and a 35-year-old Lake Grove man face charges. The Lake Grove man was not named in order to protect the identity of the child who the DA said was nearly killed.

Suffolk police and Ronkonkoma firefighters responded to a 911 call reporting a non-responsive infant on Colmar Avenue in Lake Grove on Jan. 13, authorities said. They found an 11-month-old infant had turned blue, his eyes were rolled toward the back of his head, and he was having extreme difficulty breathing, officials said. The ambulance transporting the boy to the hospital had to pull over during transit so a MedCat emergency medical technician could board the ambulance to provide additional lifesaving care to the infant, the DA said.

The child had stopped breathing for an extended period of time on the way to Stony Brook University Hospital and had been unresponsive for about 40 minutes, prosecutors said.

The medics in the ambulance determined the child was suffering opiate poisoning and gave the baby Narcan in each nostril, officials said. Five minutes later, he took a full breath on his own and began crying, officials said.

The 11-month-old child was diagnosed at the hospital with acute fentanyl poisoning, hypoxia and respiratory failure, the DA said. He needed additional Narcan doses in the pediatric emergency room, authorities said. After his admission to the pediatric intensive care unit, the infant was placed on a Narcan drip in order to prevent recurrent respiratory failure because of the opioid poisoning, prosecutors said.

The child’s father was arrested on the same day, but he was released from jail without bail because his charge was considered non-bail eligible, the DA said.

Police searched the Lake Grove home and found a straw containing cocaine, 4-ANPP, heroin, and fentanyl residue, as well as a digital scale containing cocaine, heroin and fentanyl residue, and a plastic bag containing cocaine residue, investigators said.

A review of phone data recovered from the baby's father’s phone revealed that on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, he was in contact with Mauro; Mauro offered to sell narcotics to the infant's father, prosecutors said. Mauro knew that the narcotics he intended to sell the baby's father had caused an overdose previously, officials said. Over the next few days, the infant's father actively sought out the drugs from Mauro, prosecutors said.

On Jan. 9, Mauro sold the drug to the infant's father, just four days before the infant ingested a near fatal dose of fentanyl, the DA said.

On Jan. 29, while Suffolk police detectives were investigating the infant's father and Mauro, homicide squad detectives were called to a fatal overdose that happened at a home in Patchogue, prosecutors said.

Law enforcement recovered a 31-year-old woman's cell phone and a quantity of fentanyl/4-ANPP, investigators said.

A review of the woman's phone data showed she had purchased narcotics from Mauro on Jan. 26 and Jan. 28, the DA said. Mauro told the woman that he would sell her a "non-fenty" mix, meaning narcotics without fentanyl, officials said.

An autopsy of the woman found her cause of death was a mixed drug intoxication of acute intoxication because of the combined effects of fentanyl, fluro fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, methoxyacytal fentanyl, xylazine, and buprenorphine, prosecutors said.

The DA is not naming the woman who overdosed.

On Feb. 20, a search warrant was executed at Mauro’s home in Miller Place, the DA said. During
the execution of the warrant, Mauro was accused of trying to destroy evidence by throwing a digital scale and a quantity of fentanyl/4-ANPP out of his bedroom window into the snow, but the evidence was recovered by law enforcement, authorities said. They also found suboxone pills and Mauro’s cellphone, the DA said.

Evidence found on Mauro's phone showed he communicated with the woman the day she overdosed, investigators said. Also, in a separate text communication with another person, Mauro described how strong his drugs were when he ingested them, causing him to be "knocked out" for hours, officials said.

Mauro was indicted on charges including one count of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, one count of tampering with evidence, one count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, and one count of criminally using drug paraphernalia, Tierney said.

The infant's father was charged with one count of second-degree assault, one count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, the DA said.

Both were arraigned on April 29. Mauro and the father were ordered remanded while their cases pend.

Mauro is due back in court on May 14 and he is being represented by Matthew Touhy. "Mr. Mauro entered a plea of not guilty. He and I were not aware of these charges, as they were part of a de novo indictment, and separate from the original charges. I will review all the discovery, and then try and ascertain what the best avenue to pursue is, in regard to all of his cases collectively."

The infant's father is due back in court on May 16 and is being represented by Scott Lockwood.

"It is heartbreaking to see a defenseless and innocent child become yet another casualty of a deadly illegal drug," Tierney said. "What is more outrageous is that the child's father is alleged to have placed his own son in close proximity to such poison. Then, two weeks after that baby nearly died from ingesting fentanyl, the same dealer is alleged to have sold the same to a Patchogue woman who was not as fortunate as the child and lost her life. Senseless and tragic results such as these will continue to occur in our communities until the legislature enacts real drug reform."

Lockwood did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.