The infant ingested methamphetamine while in the care of the 39-year-old man, who was the child's legal guardian
A New York man pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of a 6-month old infant who overdosed in his care last year.
Anthony Ojeda, of Cohoes, New York, pleaded guilty on Friday in the death of Eli Harmon-Ojeda, who ingested methamphetamine while in the 39-year-old man’s care, the Times Union reported.
The child was under the supervision of Rensselaer County Child Protective Services at the time of his death. His mother was unable to care for him because of addiction.
Ojeda was the child’s legal guardian at the time of his death, but the newspaper could not confirm if Ojeda is the child’s father.
Ojeda appeared virtually to the hearing in Albany Superior Court and spoke to Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch through a Spanish interpreter, the newspaper reported. He admitted that he did not immediately seek medical care for the child after it ingested methamphetamine and was in distress.
A sentencing hearing for Ojeda is scheduled in March, and he faces between three and nine years in prison, the newspaper reported.
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The state’s Office of Children and Family Services has conducted a review of the actions taken by social services workers in Rensselaer County following Eli’s death, but has not released it in response to a public record’s request, citing the interests of Eli’s mother’s other children.
