Five people have been arrested in connection to the accidental drug overdose that led to the death of Robert De Niro’s grandson, Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez.
In a press conference held Thursday, DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III and United States Attorney Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York shared that five individuals — identified as Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas — had been charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. That distribution, which was allegedly coordinated via social media, led to the deaths of three 19-year-olds over a three month span in New York in the summer of 2023. De Niro’s grandson was one of the victims of the fentanyl-laced pills.
The teen’s body was reportedly discovered by a friend in a New York City apartment. The medical examiner attributed his accidental death to “toxic effects of fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine.” His mother Drena shared the news of her son’s passing.
“It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo,” Drena, who De Niro adopted when he married her mother, his first wife Diahnne Abbott, told TheWrap in a statement at the time. “We thank you for the outpouring of love and support and ask that we are given privacy at this time to process this inconsolable grief.”
Drena also posted to social media about the death of her teenage son.
“My beautiful sweet angel,” she wrote. “I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly. You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life. I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. I don’t know how to live without you but I’ll try to go on and spread the love and light that you so made me feel in getting to be your mama. You were so deeply loved and appreciated and I wish that love alone could have saved you.”
