LI Father Whose Infant Son Nearly Died Of Fetanyl OD Is Sentenced: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A Lake Grove father was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison after he was found guilty in February in connection with the near-fatal overdose of his infant child in January 2024, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced Monday.

James Carr, 36, was convicted on assault and drug possession charges and will also face one year of post-release supervision, the DA said. Carr was represented by John Campo.

"We are confident that we have a strong appeal and we are in the process of filing a Notice of Appeal," Campo told Patch.

Carr's co-defendant, Robert Mauro, 33, of Miller Place, previously pleaded guilty to numerous crimes related to the fatal overdose of a 33-year-old woman in January 2024, the DA said.

Evidence at Carr’s trial, and Mauro’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, found that members of the Suffolk County Police Department and the Ronkonkoma Fire Department responded to a 911 call reporting a non-responsive infant on Colmar Avenue in Lake Grove on Jan. 13, 2024, the DA said.

When they arrived, "John Doe," 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, investigators said.

Because of his serious condition, the ambulance that was transporting the boy to the hospital had to pull over during the transit so a MedCat Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) could board the ambulance to provide additional lifesaving care, prosecutors 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 approximately 40 minutes, authorities said.

The medics inside the ambulance determined that the symptoms the child was exhibiting were from opiate poisoning, officials said. They swiftly provided the baby with Narcan in each nostril, the DA said. Five minutes after the administration of Narcan, he took a full breath on his own and began to cry, investigators said.

"It is nothing short of miraculous that first responders were able to revive this infant with Narcan," Tierney said in a news release.

Once at the hospital, the 11-month-old child was diagnosed with acute fentanyl poisoning, hypoxia, and respiratory failure, officials said. The boy required additional doses of Narcan in the Pediatric Emergency Room, the DA 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.

James Carr, the child’s father, was arrested on the same day, Tierney said.

Carr's Lake Grove home was searched by Suffolk police, and investigators said they recovered a straw containing cocaine, 4-ANPP (a precursor to fentanyl), heroin, and fentanyl residue; a digital scale containing cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl residue; and a plastic bag containing cocaine residue.

Carr was convicted on Feb. 27 of second-degree assault and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, the DA said.

Data recovered from Carr’s phone revealed that on Jan. 4, 2024, and January 5, 2024, he was in contact with Mauro where they discussed a sale of narcotics, investigators said. Mauro offered to sell narcotics to Carr, officials said. Mauro knew that the narcotics he intended to sell Carr had caused an overdose previously and advertised the drugs to Carr as an "oz of fire that some kid od’d off of," prosecutors said.

Over the next few days, Carr actively sought out the drugs from Mauro, the DA said. On Jan. 9, 2024, Mauro sold the drug to Carr, just four days before the infant ingested a near-fatal dose of fentanyl, authorities said.

On Jan. 29, 2024, 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. Fentanyl/4-ANPP is a precursor, or chemical, found in fentanyl mixes, the DA said.

A review of the woman's phone data showed she had purchased narcotics from Mauro on Jan. 28, 2024, the DA said.

On Jan. 26, 2024, the woman had texted Mauro that she had not used heroin in over a year and was concerned about the substance she was going to buy, investigators 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.

Mauro pleaded guilty on Oct. 17, 2024 to second-degree manslaughter and criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison on Jan. 28, which is the maximum sentence allowable under the law. The sentence will be followed by a period of two years post-release supervision once he is released. He was represented by Matthew Tuohy.

Tierney said he is urging legislators to pass the Death by Dealer statute, which would give the Suffolk County DA's Office the tools needed to seek justice proportionate to the harm caused, with enhanced penalties.

"No child should have to fight for her life because of exposure to these deadly substances, and no community should have to bury victims of this poison without proper justice being served," Tierney said.