Murders, mayhem and officer shootings lead to charges at New York jail where Diddy is being held

NEW YORK (AP) – Two inmates were stabbed to death. Another pierced the spine with a makeshift ice pick. Correctional officer accused of shooting into car during unauthorized high-speed chase.

The criminal charges unveiled Monday open a new window into the violence and dysfunction plaguing the Brooklyn federal prison where Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried are incarcerated.

In total, federal prosecutors have charged nine inmates in connection with a series of attacks that occurred between April and August at the Metropolitan Detention Center, New York’s only federal prison. The charges come amid a push by the Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons to address problems at the prison and hold perpetrators accountable.

Andrew Simpson and Devone Thomas were charged with murder in a federal detention center for allegedly stabbing inmate Uriel Whyte to death on June 7. Jamaul Aziz, James Bazemore and Alberto Santiago were charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder in a federal detention center. the July 17 murder of inmate Edwin Cordero. Makeshift weapons were used in both attacks, prosecutors said.

Messages seeking comment were left with attorneys who represented Thomas, Aziz, Bazemore and Santiago in their previous cases. Simpson’s attorney declined to comment.

Four other inmates were charged with non-fatal assault. One was charged with assaulting a federal officer for allegedly punching a correctional officer in the face in August after the officer bought him breakfast. Two other people were charged in the ice pick attack days later.

“Violence will not be tolerated in our federal prisons,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. He said the charges should serve “as a warning to those who would engage in criminal conduct behind bars, and to anyone else who facilitates these crimes: your conduct will be exposed and you will be held accountable.”

Also Monday, a correctional officer assigned to guard the prison perimeter was charged with a civil rights violation for shooting at a BMW sedan with his Bureau of Prisons-issued weapon in September 2023 after chasing the vehicle through the streets of Brooklyn in a public establishment. Dodge caravan. The BMW had three bullet holes in the rear and one person inside was injured, Peace said.

The officer, Leon Wilson, 49, drove more than twice the speed limit, ran red lights, swerved and narrowly avoided other vehicles, then returned to his station without telling anyone what he had done, prosecutors said. Wilson, a prison employee since 2000, encountered the BMW in the staff parking lot and pursued it to a location near the Brooklyn Bridge, about five miles away, prosecutors said.

Wilson is at least the seventh MDC Brooklyn staffer charged with a crime in the past five years. Others were accused of accepting bribes or providing contraband such as drugs, cigarettes and cellphones, according to an Associated Press analysis of arrests linked to the agency.

A message seeking comment was left with Wilson’s attorney.

The Bureau of Prisons says it is working to address problems at the Brooklyn jail, where inmates, lawyers and judges regularly complain about “dangerous and barbaric conditions,” including endemic violence. Combs’ lawyers filed an appeal Monday seeking his release from the troubled prison while he awaits trial on sex trafficking charges.

A group of top Bureau of Prisons officials, known as the Urgent Action Team, is working to bring the Brooklyn jail back to adequate staffing levels and ensure it is in good shape. They have made repeated visits to the facility and meet weekly to resolve issues at the prison.

So far, the agency says, it has increased its workforce by about 20 percent, bringing its total number of employees to 469 as of mid-September and leaving about 157 positions vacant. The agency says it has also addressed a significant maintenance backlog. Over four weeks in the spring, temporary workers completed more than 800 work orders for infrastructure repairs and improvements. They included electrical and plumbing upgrades and repairs to dining systems and heating and air conditioning systems.

“We take seriously addressing staffing issues and other challenges at MDC Brooklyn,” the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement.

According to prosecutors, Simpson and Thomas attacked Whyte – arming themselves with makeshift weapons and engaging in a series of two-handed attacks on him – after Whyte and Simpson got into a verbal argument. Simpson and Thomas were cellmates at the time and attacked Whyte in their own cell, prosecutors said. The violence escalated over a period of about 15 minutes, prosecutors said, culminating in a wound to Whyte’s neck that severed his carotid artery.

In Cordero’s attack, prosecutors said, Santiago, Aziz and Bazemore cornered him after an altercation between Cordero and Santiago, who stabbed him in the center of the chest, puncturing parts of his heart. Bazemore then stabbed him in the back and Aziz and Bazemore cornered him again and stabbed, punched and kicked him several times, prosecutors said, including after he fell and tried to protect himself with a table.

An ongoing Associated Press investigation has revealed deep and unprecedented flaws within the Bureau of Prisons, an agency with more than 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates, 122 facilities and an annual budget of about $8 billion.

AP reporting revealed widespread criminal activity by employees, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that hampered responses to emergencies, including assaults and suicides of prisoners.

In April, the Bureau of Prisons announced it was closing its women’s prison in Dublin, California, known as the “rape club,” abandoning attempts to reform the facility after an investigation by the AP revealed sexual abuse committed by staff against female inmates.

In July, President Joe Biden signed legislation strengthening oversight of the Bureau of Prisons after AP reporting highlighted the agency’s many flaws.