A woman was arrested in connection to the death of actor Robert De Niro's grandson.
Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, 19, was found dead July 2 in his apartment in what police have suspected was a drug overdose. Days later, his mother, Drena De Niro, said her son died after ingesting fentanyl.
Police on Thursday arrested Sofia Haley Marks, 20, for allegedly selling drugs to Rodriguez, the New York Post reported.
Marks was apprehended during an undercover sting operation conducted by the NYPD, Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security, and was federally charged with the distribution of narcotics, sources told the Post. She was expected to be arraigned in Manhattan federal court on Friday.
Drena De Niro said that her son died after taking pills laced with fentanyl, adding that she believes the person who sold them to him did so knowingly.
"Someone sold him fentanyl-laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him so for all these people still f****** around selling and buying this s***, my son is gone forever," she wrote in the comments section of an earlier post announcing the death.
"It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo,” Drena De Niro originally wrote in a statement. "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."
Shortly after, she shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram to her son in which she recalled holding him for the first time.
"None of this is right or fair and my heart hurts in a way I never knew possible while still breathing and barely functioning. Leo my darling I love you today like the first day I held you in my arms," she wrote.
Drena De Niro went on to describe how "the same man that picked us up from the hospital when you were born drove us to the funeral home where I touched and held you for the last time."
"I can't believe any of this is real YOU made everything bearable and every burden lighter. You didn't deserve to die like this but I can only believe that God needed a strong powerful angel in their army," she added.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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