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A Cobb County mother will spend decades in prison after pleading guilty to charges connected to her 2-year-old son’s fentanyl death, according to prosecutors.
Mom, boyfriend plead guilty after 2-year-old dies
Jocelyn Romero, 22, was sentenced to 75 years, with 50 years to serve, after pleading guilty to murder, cruelty to children, and several drug trafficking charges, according to Cobb District Attorney Sonya F. Allen.
Her boyfriend, Pablo Garcia, 21, also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and related charges. He was sentenced to 60 years, with 30 years to serve.
2-year-old overdoses on Fentanyl
Investigators said the case began on Dec. 4, 2023, when Romero rushed her 2-year-old son to Northside Hospital. The child was unresponsive and cold to the touch, and despite doctors’ efforts, he couldn’t be saved.
Romero, who was pregnant at the time, told police she and her son had been playing in bed when he suddenly started acting as if he’d eaten something spicy. She said she gave him water and that he fell asleep, but later realized he wasn’t breathing.
On her way to the hospital, Romero stopped at a construction site and flagged down a police officer. A worker at the site performed CPR on the child during the drive, but the boy was pronounced dead about an hour after arriving at the hospital.
An autopsy didn’t show an immediate cause of death, but toxicology results released in March 2024 found the toddler had 19 nanograms per milliliter of fentanyl in his blood — a lethal amount. The death was ruled a homicide.
Detectives searching Romero’s phone found hundreds of photos and messages showing her involvement in a major drug trafficking operation, according to prosecutors. Officials said the pictures showed Romero surrounded by thousands of fentanyl pills, kilos of meth and fentanyl, and baggies of crystalized meth — much of it photographed in the bedroom and bathroom she shared with her son.
Investigators said she even brought her son to drug deals to avoid raising suspicion from law enforcement.
Boyfriend arrested after 2-year-old died
Garcia, Romero’s boyfriend and the father of her unborn child, was also tied to the drug operation through evidence found on his phone, officials said.
He wasn’t in Georgia at the time of the boy’s death but was charged for his role in drug transactions that happened in October and November 2023 leading up to it.
