Blondie's Chris Stein reacts after 5 arrested in deaths of his daughter and Robert De Niro's grandson
- - Blondie's Chris Stein reacts after 5 arrested in deaths of his daughter and Robert De Niro's grandson
Sydney BucksbaumNovember 5, 2025 at 10:40 PM
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Dominik Bindl/Getty
Blondie's Chris Stein with daughters Akira and Vali
Blondie founder and guitarist Chris Stein has spoken out after five people were arrested in relation to the deaths of his 19-year-old daughter Akira and Robert De Niro's 19-year-old grandson Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, along with a third unnamed victim, two years ago.
"Arrests have been made and announced today in Akira's case," Stein wrote on Instagram last week while sharing a photo of his daughter. "The DEA, US Attorney folks from the NYC Southern District, and NYPD have been very sympathetic and respectful all through this process and I can't thank them enough for this hope of some justice for her."
Stein, 75, ended his statement with a plea to his followers, "Please be careful."
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On Oct. 30, it was announced that five men had been charged with distributing the fentanyl that killed three 19-year-olds, including Akira, De Niro-Rodriguez, and a third unnamed person, across a three-month span in 2023. Each case involved fentanyl-laced pills.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies announced the arrests of Bruce Epperson a.k.a. "Tea," Eddie Barreto, Grant McIver a.k.a. "Dizzy," John Nicolas a.k.a. "John John," and Roy Nicolas for "participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and other drugs that caused the accidental overdose deaths."
DEA New York Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said in a statement, "Today, justice has been delivered. While the arrest of these five individuals will not bring back the lives lost, we hope it brings some measure of closure to the families who continue to grieve the loss of their loved ones. These arrests serve as a stark reminder of the dangers that social media can pose, and of the predators who hide behind social media applications, looking to exploit our youth and sell their fentanyl pills through digital connections. Whether you deal on computer screens or on our streets, the DEA and our law enforcement partners remain committed to targeting those responsible. This is a fight to save lives."
Eugene Gologursky/Getty; Drena De Niro Instagram
Robert De Niro and grandson Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez
Authorities said that the defendants "ran a fentanyl distribution network that sold thousands of fentanyl pills to teenagers and young adults living in New York City" through social media to specifically target teens. According to the statement, Akira died at her family’s apartment in downtown Manhattan after taking fentanyl-laced pills she’d bought from two men who had allegedly sold her "numerous" pills in the six months leading up to her death, and that she’d suffered "multiple" non-fatal overdoses due to those pills.
Stein shared Akira with his wife, actress Barbara Sicuranza, along with their other daughter Vali, 20. The Blondie musician announced Akira's death on social media in July 2023 after her overdose in May of that year.
"She was wonderful and a bright place in the world," Stein wrote on Facebook. "She had been struggling for a few years and addiction took her. Barbara, Vali and I are moving ahead but there’s a huge piece missing from our lives. Just remember her and be kind to each other and you young people please avoid this trap."
Blondie singer Debbie Harry paid tribute to her goddaughter Akira days later, and warned that opioid addiction is a global epidemic that is "too dangerous yet seductive and too easy to get. Beware."
"While on stage sometimes I felt she was there watching just like when she was a little girl, standing with her sister Vali, their faces made up like mine, and dancing around on the side of the stage," Harry said about Akira. "I will grieve for the rest of my life... at our terrible loss."
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Approximately six weeks after Akira's death, De Niro-Rodriguez — the only child of De Niro's oldest daughter Drena — died in a friend's apartment in downtown Manhattan from a fatal overdose after taking a fentanyl-laced pill that he bought a day prior.
The five defendants are each charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and alprazolam resulting in the three deaths, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Last year, De Niro reflected on his grandson's death in an interview with PEOPLE. "It's just a shock," he told the outlet. "[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."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
