The prime suspect in a Bronx murder last week died while in custody on Rikers Island on Saturday — the city’s 11th in-custody death this year, and its second fatality in a week’s time.
The NYC Department of Correction announced on Saturday night that Jimmy Avila, 44, had died following an apparent medical emergency at the West Facility.
Avila, 44, had been booked on murder charges for the shooting death of Ryan Hines, 37, during a triple shooting at an apartment building on College Avenue on the morning of Aug. 27.
Hines was fatally shot in the chest while two other men were seriously wounded in the gunfire. Police had apprehended Avila at the scene.
But on Aug. 30, the correction staff at the West Facility rushed to Avila’s aid. Efforts by medical staff and EMS to revive him were unsuccessful, and Avila was pronounced dead at 4:29 p.m. Saturday.
“Our hearts are heavy with the loss of an individual in our care. We mourn his passing and extend our sympathies to his loved ones,” said Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie in a statement. “We will thoroughly investigate the circumstances of this tragic event.”
As per standard procedure, the Correction Department said it notified several agencies of Avila’s death — including the federal monitor overseeing Rikers Island, the Board of Correction, State Attorney General Letitia James’ office, the NYC Department of Investigation, the state Commission of Correction, the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner, and district attorneys.
Most recently, in June, two Rikers Island inmates died roughly an hour apart.
A city law passed in 2019 mandates the closure of Rikers Island by 2027, though it is unclear whether that mandate will be reached. The city has yet to complete the four community-based jails across the city that would replace Rikers, with those plans receiving boisterous community opposition.
In March, an independent panel cautioned that the city is not in a position to meet the 2027 closure mandate but urged stakeholders to follow a new blueprint for permanently closing Rikers.
The Freedom Agenda, a criminal justice advocacy group seeking the permanent closure of Rikers Island, said that Avila was the 44th inmate to die in Corrections Department custody since Mayor Eric Adams took office in 2022. More than 7,000 people are now incarcerated in the island penitentiary.
“An 11th death on Rikers this year is not just another tragedy—it is proof that Rikers is a death sentence. Every day it stays open, lives are at risk,” said Freedom Agenda Co-Director Darren Mack in a statement. “Decarceration and closure cannot wait another year, another month, or another life. Over forty people have died in DOC custody on your watch, Mayor Adams. How much longer will you ignore the crisis?”
