Bridgeport man takes plea deal for infant’s fentanyl overdose

“Medics did administer Narcan which did revive the child and save the child’s life. However, he was kept at Yale pediatric ICU for two days.” Justina Moore

Assistant state’s attorney

BRIDGEPORT — A man accused of letting an infant in his care overdose on fentanyl took a plea deal Tuesday calling for him to serve 42 months in prison.

Carmello Dekane, 40, pleaded guilty to three counts of risk of injury to a minor, second-degree larceny, third-degree robbery and first-degree failure to appear in court in an unrelated case, before Judge Tracy Lee Dayton.

His lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Richard Stannard, said that after discussions regarding the case Tuesday, Dekane wanted to take advantage of an offer from the judge calling on him to serve 42 months, to be followed by six years of special parole.

Assistant State’s Attorney Justina Moore said an infant boy nearly a year old was taken by medics to the St. Vincent’s Medical Center emergency room unresponsive, “suffering from a fentanyl overdose ingestion while in the care of Mr. Dekane” on Sept. 21, 2022.

“Medics did administer Narcan which did revive the child and save the child’s life,” Moore said. “However, he was kept at Yale pediatric ICU for two days.”

Dekane later fled a Bridgeport home when police responded to assist the state Department of

Children and Families with an order of temporary custody related to the case, according to the prosecutor.

The larceny and robbery charge related to a November 2022 incident at a convenience store at the intersection of Fairfield and Clinton avenues.

After approaching a cashier for change, Moore said, he said he had been shorted and snatched a gold chain from the victim’s neck before fleeing.

Dekane hesitated when the judge asked him if the facts as stated by the prosecutor were “basically correct.”

“I don’t agree with everything but I’m agreeing with some of the stuff she said,” Dekane responded. “The basic part, yes.”

Tuesday’s pleas will not affect cases pending against Dekane in other jurisdictions, including a charge of assaulting a public safety officer connected to a February 2023 brawl at a TGI Friday’s restaurant in Orange that police said involved 30 people.

Dekane, who has been held in lieu of more than $300,000 bond since November, is scheduled to appear at state Superior Court in Derby April 22 in that case.