Murder suspect mistakenly released from Rikers Island; jail staff suspended

Four correction officers at the Rikers Island jail complex, including a captain and an assistant deputy warden, were suspended after the accidental release of a murder suspect, a spokesman for the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association confirmed Thursday.

Christopher Buggs, 26, was prematurely released from the Otis Bantum Correctional Center at Rikers Island on Monday, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Correction said.

Buggs was arrested in February of 2018; he allegedly fatally shot a man in the chest at a Brooklyn deli in January of that year.

The DOC launched an investigation into how Buggs was mistakenly released, spokesman Peter Thorne said.

“We are aware of this incident and a full investigation into how this happened is underway. Right now we are working with our law enforcement partners to return this‎ individual to custody,” Thorne said.

The New York Post reports Buggs had told a judge to “suck my d---” in a Feb. 16 court appearance when a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge denied his bail application.

The judge issued two 30-day contempt of court orders for Buggs, who is already facing a charge of intentional murder and two counts of criminal possession of a loaded gun. On Monday, a judge sentenced Buggs to time served on the criminal contempt case.

Buggs was mistakenly released by personnel who did not recognize Buggs should still have still been held on the murder charge. Buggs was dropped off at the Samuel L. Perry Center, where released inmates are given a MetroCard and wait for the bus to take them off Rikers Island, according to the Post.