NEW YORK (PIX11) — A detainee at the Rikers Island jail facility died on Monday, officials said.
Gilberto Garcia, 26, was in custody at the Anna M. Kross Center. Garcia’s cause of death remained under investigation on Monday evening.
The Rikers inmate had been in custody since Nov. 2 of 2019 on a robbery charge, authorities said. He died around 12:50 p.m.
“We send our deepest condolences to Mr. Garcia’s loved ones and family at this difficult time,” DOC Commissioner Louis A. Molina said. “As with every death that occurs in custody, we will conduct a preliminary investigation into the cause and circumstances.”
The death marks the 16th death in Department of Correction custody this year. Two others died this year shortly after they were granted compassionate release, but the DOC does not count those deaths in their official tally.
There were 16 DOC-related deaths in all of 2021; most of the 16 died while in custody, but two died shortly after they were compassionately released.
