A 29-year-old man died after he was found unresponsive in a holding cell at a Bronx courthouse following his arraignment Friday, New York’s Department of Correction said.
Julian Pagan was found shortly before 6 p.m. and given medical aid before being transported to Lincoln Hospital, the department said in a statement. He was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and we share our condolences with Mr. Pagan's loved ones,” Commissioner Stanley Richards said in a statement. “We will investigate the circumstances of this death in coordination with city and state authorities.”
Pagan’s attorney with the Legal Aid Society, Samantha Brugger, said in a statement that she had been in court with her client hours before he died.
“He was alert, engaged, and showed no signs that he was experiencing a medical emergency,” she said. "Mr. Pagan's family deserves answers. No family should be left to learn that a loved one entered the City's custody alive only to be told hours later that he had died.”
After Pagan learned that he would have to go back to Rikers, he spoke to his father, according to Brugger. “His father told him to ‘hang in there’ and reminded him that he loved him,” she added. "The prospect of returning to Rikers deeply distressed Mr. Pagan.”
Pagan is at least the fifth person to die in, or shortly after leaving, Department of Correction custody this year. The four earlier deaths all involved people held on Rikers Island who died after medical emergencies, two in March and two in May. At least 15 people died in 2025, according to oversight records, the most since 2022.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in a statement on social media Saturday, also affirmed the Department of Correction and oversight partners would investigate the death.
"Every person in city custody deserves to be treated with dignity and care, and our administration remains committed to ensuring that happens," Mamdani said.
New York City’s jail system remains under federal oversight for years of violence and dangerous conditions at Rikers Island.
In January, the federal judge in charge of reforming Rikers appointed a remediation manager to force changes to the system. In his first action plan, filed earlier this month, the manager wrote that the Department of Correction struggles to perform even basic functions like staffing posts, securing housing units and keeping people safe.
This story has been updated with new information.
