By Michele Evans / NYweeklyRecord.com / Date: 9/18/2026
Category: Rikers Island / NYC Department of Correction / Criminal Courts / Custody Accountability
NEW YORK CITY, NY – A 20-year-old man died after suffering medical distress in Department of Correction custody at Queens Criminal Court, becoming at least the eighth person to die in the city jail system’s custody this year.
Luis Alberto Lopez Castillo had appeared before a judge Wednesday on charges tied to a separate Queens case. Correction officers found him in medical distress inside the courthouse at about 6:30 p.m., according to DOC. Staff performed CPR until emergency medical workers arrived. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital and pronounced dead shortly before 8 p.m.
The city medical examiner has not announced a cause of death. DOC has not said what symptoms officers observed, how long Lopez Castillo had been in distress, what medical screening he received before the court trip or whether he had asked for care. Those unanswered questions are central to determining whether the emergency was recognized and treated quickly enough.
Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards called the death heartbreaking and said the department would investigate with city and state authorities. State law requires DOC to notify oversight bodies after a death in custody, including the federal monitor, the state attorney general, the Board of Correction, the medical examiner and prosecutors handling the person’s cases.
Lopez Castillo had been held since October 2025. Court records show he faced robbery, grand larceny, assault and weapons charges in Queens. He was also charged in the Bronx with murder, manslaughter, robbery and weapons possession in the September 2025 killing of 26-year-old Ronell Marte.
Prosecutors allege Lopez Castillo and another man tried to rob Marte at gunpoint in Starlight Park after Marte left an overnight shift at an Amazon warehouse. Marte, who had autism, was shot in the chest and killed. The charges against Lopez Castillo remained allegations that had not been resolved at trial before his death.
The custody death does not erase the harm to Marte and his family. It also does not relieve the city of its duty to keep every person in its custody alive and provide timely medical care. Both truths belong in the public record.
Lopez Castillo’s death follows seven other DOC custody deaths reported this year. Recent cases include Christopher Rodriguez, who died after medical distress in the Bellevue Hospital jail unit, and Julian Pagan, who died in a Bronx courthouse holding cell after arraignment. Umais Khan and Rajpattie Ramkellawan died within 24 hours of each other in May. John Price and Barry Cozart died four days apart in March.
The latest death happened outside Rikers Island but inside the same correction system responsible for detainees during court transport and courthouse detention. That means the review must examine more than the final minutes. It should establish the medical timeline, custody movements, staff observations, emergency response and any warning signs documented before Lopez Castillo reached the courthouse.
Until the medical examiner determines a cause and investigators release their findings, no one can responsibly say whether this death was preventable. The public can demand a full accounting now. Eight deaths in one year require more than condolences. They require evidence, timelines and corrective action where the facts support it.
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