Sunday, July 16, 2023 – The woman arrested in connection with the overdose death of Hollywood actor, Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez had told an undercover police officer that a friend of hers died prior to Leandro’s death — and advised the officer to “please be careful” with the pills she was selling to him, according to a newly obtained criminal complaint.
According to the 10-page complaint, obtained by PEOPLE, the details of 20-year-old Sophia H. Marks’ three federal narcotics charges are laid bare.
Also, in the reported text messages between Marks and De Niro-Rodriguez (pictured top right), and the “50 suspected counterfeit oxycodone pills” she allegedly sold to an undercover officer — Marks told the undercover officer that they shouldn’t “do more than one at a time” of her pills and that her “friend just died.”
“Marks sold a total of 50 suspected counterfeit oxycodone pills to an undercover police officer,” the complaint approved by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. King reads.
“On July 13, following Marks’ second sale to the undercover officer, she was arrested and found to be in possession of approximately 156 more suspected counterfeit oxycodone pills and approximately $1,500 in cash.”
The complaint goes on: “Shortly after her arrest, law enforcement agents conducted a search of her bedroom and recovered a large amount of cash.” Marks was arrested and accused of selling drugs to De Niro-Rodriguez, 19, who was found dead on July 2 inside a New York City apartment.
The criminal complaint notes that Marks was held without bail on three federal narcotics charges after reportedly selling fake Oxycodone and Xanax laced with fentanyl to the famed actor’s grandson (referred to in the complaint as just the “victim”) the night before he was found dead. Her charges reportedly include three counts of Distribution of Narcotics after she “sold counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl on at least three separate occasions.”
After the teen’s death, Marks reportedly sold a total of 50 suspected counterfeit pills to an undercover officer, and was later arrested and found to be in possession of 156 more.
The complaint also references text exchanges reportedly between the victim and Marks on June 30, where he apparently asked to buy 3 more counterfeit oxycodone pills (or “30s”), and Marks texted him, “[d]o you [real]ly need them,” and “I [don’t] wanna kill u.”
She later wrote she did not want to kill him “w[ith] the 30s,” which was noted as a reference to the counterfeit pills, and that she didn’t “like serving u them cuz they not script,” apparently in reference to them not being prescription pills.
The following day, Marks reportedly followed up with De Niro-Rodriguez, and further discussed before she told him to not “go overboard” with the pills. At 8 p.m on July 1, Marks allegedly wrote that she could sell the three apparent counterfeit oxycodone pills and two tablets of Xanax for $105, and eventually arranged for a car service to deliver the disguised drugs.
“At approximately 9:15 p.m., Marks confirmed that she delivered the drugs to the car driver by telling the victim, ‘[j]ust gave it to him,'” the criminal complaint reads. “At approximately 1 :50 a.m. on or about July 2, 2023, long after the drugs had been delivered to the victim, as described below, Marks texted the Victim, ‘u good?’ The victim never responded.”
“… Based on my conversations with other law enforcement officers, my review of law enforcement records, and my conversations with witnesses, I have learned that on or about July 2, 2023 — that is, the day after the victim received three counterfeit oxycodone pills and Xanax from Sophia Marks, the defendant — the victim was found dead of a suspected overdose that likely was the result of fentanyl poisoning.”
As the complaint notes, one of the two blue “M30” pills recovered from the scene was allegedly determined to have contained fentanyl. An “initial toxicology screen” of De Niro-Rodriguez “returned a positive result for the presence of cocaine, fentanyl, and benzodiazepines in the victim’s system,” it adds.
Days later on July 6, an undercover officer began interacting with Marks via text, and she allegedly agreed to sell them 25 Percocet pills for $500.
“Each pill the [officer] obtained from Marks on or about July 9, 2023, was a blue, round pill marked with ‘M’ on one side and ’30’ on the other side. Laboratory testing of one of the blue ‘M30’ pills Marks sold to the [officer] determined that it contained fentanyl.”
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