Five Arrested in 2023 Death

Five individuals have been arrested in connection to the death of Robert De Niro‘s grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, who died in July 2023 at the age of 19 from a “toxic” combination of drugs that included fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine, and cocaine.

According to court documents reviewed by Rolling Stone, the defendants — Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas — were members of a “criminal network that distributed thousands of counterfeit prescription opioid pills laced with fentanyl, among other drugs, to teenagers and young adults living in New York City” at the time of the fatal incident.

While Rodriguez is not named directly in the filing, the court notes that “over a three-month span in the summer of 2023, the fentanyl pills distributed by the defendants caused the deaths of three 19-year-olds.”

The date of Rodriguez’s death aligns with the documented description of “Victim-3,” who is said to have used social media and encrypted messaging apps to communicate with a drug dealer connected to McIver, Epperson, and Barreto to obtain fentanyl pills. A text exchange shows the dealer asking Victim-3, “Do u rly need them… Ion wanna kill u … I j[ust] don’t like serving them cuz they not script [i.e., prescription].”

Other details in the filing presumably pertain to the overdose death of Akira Stein, daughter of Blondie member Chris Stein. Stein died at age 19 in May 2023, details that align with the description of “Victim-1,” who communicated primarily with John Nicolas. In one exchange, Victim 1 informed Nicolas that she overdosed on pills he sold her. “I barely did anything and I know my tolerance,” one message read. “Just warn customers in batch might be extra strong.”

The five defendants each face one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substance resulting in death. The third death, listed as “Victim-2,” occurred in June 2023. In July 2023, a 20-year-old woman, Sophia Marks, allegedly know as the “Percocet Princess,” was arrested on federal drug distribution charges stemming from an investigation tied to Rodriguez’s death.

“It’s just a shock,” De Niro told People last year about receiving the news of his grandson’s death. “[I] never thought it would happen … And I just then started thinking about all the things I could have, should have done maybe with him. I don’t know if that would’ve made a difference. And so that’s always playing through my mind. It shouldn’t have happened.”