By Michele Evans / NYweeklyRecord.com / Date: 7/25/2026
Category: Corrections / NYC Department of Correction / Criminal Courts / Public Safety
NEW YORK CITY, NY – Julian Pagan, 29, died after being found unresponsive in a Bronx courthouse holding cell following his arraignment, adding another death to New York City’s troubled jail-custody record.
Gothamist reported that Department of Correction staff found Pagan shortly before 6 p.m. on Friday, July 24. The agency said staff provided medical aid before he was transported to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:37 p.m.
The cause of Pagan’s death has not been released. The public record does not yet explain when he was last seen responsive, what medical screening he received, whether he reported symptoms, or how frequently staff observed him after arraignment.
Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards offered condolences to Pagan’s family and said the department would investigate with city and state authorities. The statement confirms an investigation, but it does not identify which agencies are leading it or when findings will be made public.
Those unanswered questions matter because Pagan was under government control. Investigators must establish a precise custody timeline, including when responsibility transferred to DOC, which staff members were assigned to the holding area, what checks were required, and whether those checks occurred.
Pagan was found in a courthouse cell, not at Rikers Island. That distinction does not lessen the city’s duty of care. It sharpens the need to account for medical screening and supervision at every stage between arrest, arraignment, courthouse detention, and any possible jail transfer.
His death is at least the fifth involving a person who died in or shortly after DOC custody in 2026, according to Gothamist. The four earlier deaths involved people held at Rikers after medical emergencies. Officials have not publicly connected Pagan’s death to those cases.
At least 15 people died in city jail custody in 2025, the highest total since 2022. The jail system remains under federal oversight, and a court-appointed remediation manager has cited longstanding failures involving staffing, secure housing operations, and the city’s ability to keep people in custody safe.
Pagan’s family deserves facts, not only condolences. The accountability test now is whether officials release the medical findings, observation records, staffing assignments, emergency-response timeline, and investigative conclusions needed to explain how a 29-year-old man died after arraignment while in city custody.
Sources
Gothamist: 29-year-old man dies in city custody after arraignment at Bronx courthouse
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