An inmate at Rikers Island died in his prison cell Saturday morning \u2013 marking the ninth reported prisoner death at the troubled New York City jail this year, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ardit Billa, 29, who was in for burglary, was found \u201cunresponsive\u201d in his lockup by officers conducting routine tours at the George R. Vierno Center around 12:25 a.m., according to the city\u2019s Department of Correction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Medical staff responded to the scene and rendered emergency aid, but the inmate was pronounced dead just before 1 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rikers Island inmate Ardit Billa, 29, died Saturday morning after he was found unresponsive in his cell. Leonardo Munoz<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of the NYC Department of Correction, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Mr. Billa\u2019s family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,\u201d DOC Commissioners Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny loss of life in our custody is a tragedy, and we are committed to a full review of the circumstances surrounding this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Billa was booked at the Rikers facility on Feb. 23 after he was arrested on two separate cases in January \u2013 one for assault and weapons offenses and the other for burglary, criminal mischief and possessing stolen property, court records show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The death marks the 9th in the city-run jail this year \u2014 surpassing a total of five detainees who died in 2024. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n
He was due back in court on Sept. 15.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s incident brings the death toll in the city-run jail to nine<\/a> \u2014 surpassing the five detainees who died in 2024 at the short-stay Bronx correctional complex. <\/p>\n Last month, Edwin Quispe, 33, was pronounced dead after he suffered a medical emergency and was found lying on the floor of a restroom inside the Eric M. Taylor Center. <\/p>\n The death remains under investigation. AP<\/p>\n Also in July, 51-year-old detainee Christian Collado, who had cancer, died at Bellevue Hospital\u2019s jail ward, where he was receiving palliative care, Gothamist reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n