MIAMI — More than two years after a 10-month-old baby girl died from ingesting fentanyl at her parents’ home in Boynton Beach, the South Florida dealers that sold the drug to the couple pleaded guilty to distributing the synthetic opioid that killed her.

Samantha Yi, 32, pled guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Her boyfriend Darnell Mendez, 31, pled guilty to the same charges on July 25.

Mendez has a sentencing hearing set for Oct. 29; meanwhile, Yi’s sentencing has been slated for Jan. 9, federal court documents show.

The Lake Worth pair are accused of selling the baby’s mother, Kelly Kirwan, then 32, the fentanyl that killed her baby in 2022.

On March 31, Kirwan noticed her daughter was making “strange noises” while sleeping in the afternoon and texted video clips to friends and family who told her the sounds were not normal, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Kirwan also sent videos of the baby in distress to Yi — the same day she ingested the fentanyl, court records reveal.

Two hours later, Kirwan reportedly drove to Yi’s home to buy more drugs, WPTV 5 reported. Court documents confirm that Kirwan and Yi had been communicating back and forth and location data shows that Kirwan went to Yi’s mother’s house at some point during the day.

Shortly thereafter, federal prosecutors say Kirwan called 911 from a shopping plaza outside of Boynton Beach and reported that her baby was unresponsive. Fire rescue officials then took the baby to Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach.

On April 1, the 10-month-old was transferred to Joe DiMaggio’s Children Hospital in Hollywood. By April 5, the baby had lost all brain activity and was taken off of life support, court records indicate.

The Palm Beach County’s Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the baby’s death a homicide and a toxicology report determined she had fluorofentanyl, fentanyl, norfentanyl, and naloxone in her system.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the CDC. It is often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency.

$11,930, undercover officers and 14 guns

Following the baby’s death, the Boynton Beach Police department conducted a homicide investigation in which they found the child’s mother and father were addicts and had been abusing fentanyl regularly in the kitchen of their apartment. The probe also uncovered that the baby was teething and ingested fentanyl on March 31, 2022 — while in the care of her mother, according to the feds, who noted her father was at work at the time.

Months later, Kirwan was arrested by Boynton Beach officers in October 2022. She faces an aggravated manslaughter of a child by culpable negligence charge. She has since bonded out of jail, pleaded not guilty to the charge and remains under house arrest, according to Palm Beach County court records. Her next court date is unclear.

After examining months worth of text messages between Kirwan and Yi, investigators found that Yi had sold fentanyl to Kirwan the day before her baby had eaten it. Yi was found to be her only dealer. The investigation further determined that Yi’s boyfriend, Mendez, was also complicit in the distribution of fentanyl.

As part of the joint probe, DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, BBPD, and PBSO conducted an operation involving two undercover officers who purchased fentanyl from the couple.

After Yi and Mendez received $11,930 from undercover agents during a drug transaction, they were arrested March 6 at their Lake Worth residence, according to court documents.

While there, law enforcement discovered 14 firearms, including a 12-Gauge shotgun and multiple pistols and revolvers inside the couple’s home. Yi and Mendez admitted being felons unlawfully in possession of firearms as part of their pleas.

Both defendants face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years to a maximum sentence of life.

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