Rikers detainee dies at hospital after lawyer says he tried to get him released from jail

A Rikers Island detainee died Wednesday while receiving palliative care at a local hospital, according to the New York City Department of Correction — a day after his attorney said he asked the court to release his client from custody.

Christian Collado, 51, died shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday at Bellevue Hospital’s jail ward, correction officials said. Jail and court records show he had been held since October on charges of burglary, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in connection with an August incident.

Collado is the eighth detainee to die in or shortly after being released from DOC custody this year, which has already eclipsed last year in detainee deaths.

His attorney, Judah Maltz, said Collado had bile duct cancer. Maltz said he tried to get the case dismissed because of it, but was only able to petition the court Tuesday after obtaining a letter from a doctor earlier this month attesting that Collado’s death was imminent.

“I  blame the system,” Maltz said. “There should be a law allowing lawyers to file a motion asking for physical examination to see if a person is physically able to stand trial.”

The correction department said Collado’s brother visited him during his illness and was with him when he died. Rikers officials said they notified other city and state agencies about the death as required.

“Our thoughts are with Mr. Collado’s loved ones at this time,” Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said in a statement.