A 39-year-old man died while in custody at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island Wednesday morning, marking the troubled prison island’s first fatality of 2026.
A Department of Correction officer found Barry Cozart in need of medical aid at the detention center on Wednesday morning, according to Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards. A staff member performed CPR on Cozart, but the detainee could not be revived and died around 11:33 a.m.
“As Commissioner, and as a Department, we place the safety and support of those in our care at the center of everything we do,” Richards said in a statement. “This tragedy weighs heavily on me and on every member of this Department. I extend my deepest condolences to his loved ones. Our sorrow over his loss is immeasurable.”
Mayor Mamdani announced the death — the first fatality on Rikers Island of his administration — on social media Wednesday afternoon.
“I am deeply troubled to learn that a person in custody died on Rikers Island this morning,” Mamdani wrote in a post on X. “My thoughts are with their loved ones, who are now facing an unimaginable loss. Transparency and accountability are essential, and the Department of Correction is conducting an investigation.
“While we do not yet know the cause of death, too many have died on Rikers Island for far too long,” the mayor said. “Rikers must close, and we will pursue every avenue to do so as quickly as possible.”
Cozart was arrested on Nov. 14th and charged with criminal trespass, burglary, criminal mischief and petit larceny after he was caught on camera stealing a bag from a single-family home on Soho Drive in the Jamaica Estates area of Queens earlier that day, court documents show. He was being held on bail set at $30,000 cash and $90,000 bond after pleading not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.
He has a criminal record that includes more than 20 arrests, with prior charges including burglary, robbery and criminal possession of a controlled substance, in addition to charges related to domestic violence, cops said.
An attorney for Cozart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.