The woman arrested in connection with the suspected overdose death of Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro, 19, is pictured in court.
Sophia Haley Marks, 20, known as the ‘Percocet Princess’, is accused of distributing the drug but did not enter a plea in federal court in Manhattan on Friday.
The judge did not grant bail for his release.
Marks was arrested in an NYPD undercover sting operation Thursday night at approximately 6 p.m.
Leandro’s lifeless body was found sitting on a chair next to white powder inside a $950,000 one-bedroom apartment on Wall Street, New York.
Sophia Haley Marks, 20, known as the ‘Percocet Princess’, has been charged with distribution of the drug.
On July 2, Leandro’s body was found sitting on a chair next to white powder
A police source told Newstimesuk.com that the substance was found near her body and there were no signs of injury. He was found by a friend who hadn’t heard from him in days and was checking in on him.
Aspiring actor and director Leandro was following in his mother and grandfather’s career footsteps, landing a small role in 2018’s A Star Is Born as the son of Bradley Cooper’s best friend, George ‘Noodles’ Stone, played by Dave Chappelle. He also appeared in Cabaret Maxim in 2018.
His mother, Drena De Niro – an American actress who was adopted by De Niro after the actor married his mother, Diane Abbott, in 1976 – announced his death.
She made De Niro a grandfather in 2003 when she welcomed Leandro with her then-boyfriend, graffiti artist Carlos Rodriguez.
Earlier this month, the grieving mother took to social media to say her son died of a fentanyl overdose.
He claimed that someone had sold his beloved son medicines that were tainted, resulting in his death.
‘Someone sold her pills laced with fentanyl that they knew were laced yet sold them to her,’ Drena said on Instagram.
He added: ‘For all these people still selling and buying this thing, the king, my son is gone forever,’ he added.
The mother made the comments in response to a commenter who asked her how her son died.
De Niro also released a statement about his grandson’s death, saying he was ‘deeply saddened’ and appreciated the outpouring of sympathy for his family.
He said, ‘I am deeply saddened by the death of my beloved grandson Leo.
‘We are very grateful for the condolences from everyone. We ask that we be given privacy to mourn the loss of Leo.’
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters last month that fentanyl is now “probably in 98% of the drugs” in the Big Apple.
“Fentanyl is in everything now, everything,” Essig said. ‘People have low tolerance now, so they’re using such high doses.’
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is also a major contributor to fatal and accidental overdoses in the United States.
Illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) is available on the drug market in various forms, including liquid and powder.
Powdered fentanyl looks like many other drugs. It is commonly mixed with drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine and made into pills that resemble other prescription opioids.
Leandro’s death comes after the Justice Department filed charges against several Chinese companies and executives for their alleged role in the US fentanyl trade.
Federal prosecutors say nearly all fentanyl precursors today are manufactured and shipped from China.
Criminal organizations such as the notorious Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico work with Chinese companies to obtain their ingredients for fentanyl.
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