A 29-year-old man died after he was found unresponsive in a Bronx courthouse holding cell following his arraignment on Friday, the city Department of Correction said.
Julian Pagan was discovered about 6:00 p.m. inside the cell before medics rushed him to Lincoln Hospital, officials said. He died at the hospital at about 6:35 p.m.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and we share our condolences with Mr. Pagan’s loved ones,” New York City Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards said in a statement. “We will investigate the circumstances of this death in coordination with city and state authorities.”
Legal Aid attorney Samatha Brugger said she was in court with Pagan hours before his death.
“He was alert, engaged, and showed no signs that he was experiencing a medical emergency,” Brugger said in a statement.
Pagan was initially arrested in August 2025 on assault and harassment charges, according to court records. He was later arrested again on a bench warrant for skipping out on a court hearing.
It appears Pagan was arraigned on a criminal contempt charge Friday and could not post bail, which a judge set at $200 cash and $400 insurance bond, records show.
“Upon learning that he would be returned to Rikers Island, Mr. Pagan spoke with his father in what would become one of their final conversations,” his attorney said. “His father told him to ‘hang in there’ and reminded him that he loved him. The prospect of returning to Rikers deeply distressed Mr. Pagan.”
Brugger said Pagan’s family deserves swift answers from the city.
“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,” she wrote. “The city must provide a full and transparent accounting of what happened to Mr. Pagan while he was in its custody, and it must do so without delay.”
Mayor Mamdani said the DOC and its oversight partners will investigate Pagan’s death.
“My heart is with his loved ones, who are facing this unimaginable loss,” the mayor wrote in a statement posted to X. “Every person in City custody deserves to be treated with dignity and care, and our administration remains committed to ensuring that happens.”
Pagan’s death followed the May deaths of 40-year-old Umais Khan and 41-year-old Rajpattie Ramkellawan, who died in custody on Rikers Island, one day apart from each other.
On May 19, Khan was found unconscious in his bed at the Eric M. Taylor Center by another detainee, who alerted Department of Correction staff around 10:54 a.m., a department spokeswoman said.
DOC personnel performed CPR on Khan while awaiting medical staff, who arrived at the scene to render aid within minutes, according to DOC.
He could not be revived and was declared dead at 11:21 a.m.
Ramkellawan died a day earlier at the Rose M. Singer Center at 11:13 a.m. after experiencing a “medical emergency,” according to a DOC spokeswoman. Ramkellawan was provided with medical assistance but could not be saved, according to DOC.