Guilty Plea Entered In Vernon Infant Fentanyl Ingestion Case

VERNON, CT — The father of a 6-month-old being held responsible for the infant ingesting an almost-lethal dose of fentanyl through a water bottle first used to mix a fix and then mistakenly used to make baby formula at a Vernon home, has entered a guilty plea in the case, court records show.

Nicholas Rodriguez, who was 38 when charged in April 2020, entered the plea to risk of injury to a minor and second-degree assault charges, court records show. He faces a year in jail at his next scheduled court date on May 6 with nine more years in the balance should be break a five-year probation, records show.

Rodriguez was originally charged with first-degree assault (with extreme indifference to life), risk of injury to a child, first-degree reckless endangerment, possession of fentanyl and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to a police report, on Jan. 26, 2020, Vernon police and an emergency medical unit responded to a Vernon residence to assist a 6-month-old who was in "extreme respiratory distress." The infant was transported to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, where it was determined that the child was suffering from a "life-threatening fentanyl overdose," according to a report.

The child initially required life-saving measures followed by several days of treatment before recovering and being released from the hospital, a report indicates.

Vernon detectives then began a joint investigation with the state Department of Children and Families and the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Team at CCMC to determine how the child ingested fentanyl.

Police determined that the child’s father — Rodriguez — was a heroin/fentanyl user, a report indicates. Investigators believed he would use a water bottle cap to prepare his heroin/fentanyl for injection
and then replace the cap on the bottle after using it, according to a report.

It was also believed by detectives that the practice caused the remaining water in the bottle to become contaminated with fentanyl, according to a report.

Rodriguez placed the contaminated water bottle in a bathroom inside a Vernon home, where he was living with the child and mother, according to a report.

The investigation determined that, during the early morning hours of Jan. 26, the child’s mother
used the contaminated water bottle to prepare formula for the child and that she was not aware that the bottle was contaminated with fentanyl, according to a report.

A few hours after consuming the formula, the child began to suffer respiratory distress and an ambulance was called, police said.

Police searched the home and seized several items, including suspected heroin/fentanyl packaging, drug paraphernalia, the suspected contaminated water bottle and several of the child’s bottles, a report indicates.
Inside one of the child’s bottles, were several small pieces of cotton — consistent with those commonly used by intravenous drug users to filter the liquified drugs while loading a syringe, according to a report.

Rodriguez has been free after posting a $50,000 bond at the time of his arraignment, records show.