A Long Island case that put a group of middle school students in the hospital has ended in a guilty plea. A Guatemalan national admitted in court to selling gummies laced with THC to minors, closing out a prosecution that began when a dozen young students fell seriously ill.
Prosecutors identified the man as 23-year-old Wilmer Castillo Garcia. According to the case laid out against him, he pleaded guilty to selling the drug-laced candy to minors, the central charge in an investigation that drew attention because of how young the affected children were.
The gummies were not ordinary candy. They contained the compound found in cannabis, known as THC, and prosecutors say Garcia sold them on Instagram in March of 2025, using the social media platform to reach buyers rather than dealing in person.
The consequences for the students were severe. Twelve students at William Floyd Middle School in Mastic got so sick after taking the gummies that they had to be taken to the hospital, turning what might have looked like ordinary sweets into a public health scare at the school.
The gummies were not the end of Garcia's dealing, according to authorities. Two months later, he sold cocaine and cannabis to an undercover officer, an encounter that moved the case beyond the initial gummy sales and deepened the charges he was facing.
His attempt to avoid arrest ended at the border. Garcia was taken into custody while trying to flee to Canada, cutting off his effort to leave the country as the investigation into his sales closed in on him.
With the guilty plea entered, the case now moves toward sentencing. Garcia is expected to be sentenced to two years in prison, and officials say that afterward he will be held under the custody of ICE, adding an immigration dimension to the outcome of the case.