https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...l3q-story.html
Two inmates died within days of one another at the same Rikers Island jail ' the first in a bizarre incident where the man's head was caught in a handcuff slot, and the other in an apparent suicide, the Daily News has learned.
The first inmate died March 2 and was found with his head stuck in the cuff port 'a small metal door built into a larger jailhouse door where inmates slide their hands through so that correction officers can securely shackle them, sources said.
The inmate was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital, and was later pronounced dead, sources said. Department of Correction officials are still investigating the circumstances behind the bizarre death, sources said.
A second inmate, Javier Velasco, was found Friday in his cell with a linen wrapped around his neck just after 5 a.m. in an apparent suicide, according to an internal incident report obtained by The News.
Medics called at 5:15 a.m., and arrived within five minutes. The inmate was pronounced dead just after 6:10 a.m.
Both individuals were being held at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island.
News of the incidents come in the wake of two accidental releases from the troubled jail complex. Accused murderer Christopher Buggs was sprung March 9 after a jail screw up ' and just days later, a similar court clerk error put alleged attempted murderer Nikim Meekins on the streets. Meekins has since turned himself in, while Buggs remains missing.