COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A mother will spend 50 years in prison for the death of her 2-year-old son. He died after being exposed to fentanyl. The mother’s boyfriend will also go to prison.
Evidence in Pablo Garcia’s phone revealed his involvement in a drug-trafficking operation led by the child’s mother, who pleaded guilty to murder and drug trafficking charges.
A Cobb County judge sentenced Jocelyn Romero to 75 years, with 50 years to be served in prison.
Romero lived with her son at the Kenwood apartment complex, near a playground.
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One month before her son died, Romero’s apartment was the focus of a Homeland Security investigation.
Investigators found fentanyl and nearly 30 grams of cocaine, among other drugs, in the apartment.
“She wasn’t caring for the child. If you got raided for drugs you weren’t caring for that child in no way, shape, or form,” neighbor Brianna Lee told Channel 2’s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell.
Romero’s son died the following month.
“It takes away the entire life of a 2-year-old that had nothing to do with it. So how do I feel about drugs? I feel terrible that they are even here, so,” neighbor Endio Olive said.
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During the investigation, it was revealed that Romero intentionally brought her 2-year-old to drug trafficking transactions to avoid police detection.
In December of 2023, one month after Romero was charged with trafficking drugs, Romero told police she found her child unresponsive after he ate something spicy.
But a toxicology report revealed fentanyl in the child’s system.
Romero was pregnant with her boyfriend’s child at the time of her toddler’s death.
The judge sentenced her boyfriend to 60 years, with 30 years to serve in prison.
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