An individual has been apprehended on federal narcotics charges for allegedly vending pills infused with fentanyl, which unfortunately led to the tragic demise of actor Robert De Niro’s 19-year-old grandson, as announced by authorities on Friday.
The suspect, Sofia Haley Marks, who is 20 years old, was arrested on Thursday by New York City police officers and federal drug agents for the offense of distributing drugs to Leandro De Niro Rodriguez. This information was provided by a law enforcement official who spoke under the condition of anonymity due to the lack of authorization to discuss the arrest.
Marks is facing three counts of distributing narcotics, as stated in a federal complaint filed on Friday. The complaint did not disclose Rodriguez’s identity as the victim in the case.
The appearance of Marks in federal court was scheduled for later in the day on Friday. No online booking records were available for Marks’ arrest, and the existence of an attorney representing her was yet to be confirmed.
Rodriguez was discovered deceased in his Manhattan apartment on July 2. The cause of his death is currently being investigated, according to a spokesperson from the city medical examiner’s office.
As documented in the complaint filed on Friday, it was revealed that on July 1, on the day prior to Rodriguez’s demise, Marks purportedly sold him three counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, along with two counterfeit Xanax pills. As alleged in the complaint, Rodriguez died after ingesting one of the fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills.
The complaint further details that on July 9 and again on Thursday, Marks sold a total of 50 suspected counterfeit oxycodone pills to undercover police officers. At the time of her arrest, Marks was found carrying 156 counterfeit oxycodone pills and $1,500 in cash. These revelations were provided by the detectives involved in the case.
Rodriguez was the son of Drena De Niro, the eldest child of Robert De Niro, and artist Carlos Mare.
Similar to his renowned grandfather, Rodriguez was an actor who had collaborated with his mother on various projects, including Bradley Cooper’s 2018 rendition of “A Star is Born.”
Robert De Niro expressed deep distress following Rodriguez’s passing, stating, “I am profoundly saddened by the loss of my beloved grandson Leo.” At the time of this rewrite, representatives for De Niro had not responded to inquiries seeking comment on the arrest.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is estimated to be 50 times more potent than heroin. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provisional data indicates that there were over 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2022, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl contributing to approximately two-thirds of these cases.
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