NEW YORK — A Manhattan man sent to Rikers Island for shoplifting perfume has died of a suspected overdose, the 19th death in New York City jails this year, sources said Monday.
Edgardo Mejias, 39, was found unresponsive in the Anna M. Kross Center and declared dead about 5 p.m. Sunday, Correction Department officials said.
Correction Department sources said he was discovered by other detainees, who alerted staff. He died of a likely overdose, though the Correction Department did not cite a cause of death, sources said. If confirmed, it would be the sixth overdose death in the jails in 2022.
