(KRON) — The mother of a 23-month-old boy who died on Oct. 18 after being exposed to fentanyl has now been charged by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office with involuntary manslaughter and willful cruelty to a child, the Fremont Police Department confirmed to KRON4 Thursday.
Sophia Gastelum-Vera, the 26-year-old mother from Fremont, was arrested in connection to the death on Nov. 7 and booked into the Santa Rita Jail.
Gastelum-Vera faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, willful cruelty to a child, possession of a controlled substance and possession of injection/ingestion device/controlled substance paraphernalia, Fremont PD said.
On Oct. 18, Gastelum-Vera drove her son to a local emergency room. He was unresponsive and not breathing. The boy would later be pronounced dead.
Police served a search warrant at the mother’s home on the 4300 block of Gina Street and uncovered “items associated with illicit drug use” inside the bedroom where investigators believe the boy was initially found unresponsive. The items would later test positive for the presence of fentanyl, according to authorities.
The boy’s toxicology report showed “a high level of fentanyl” in his system when he died, police said.
