OD eyed in death at Rikers

AN INMATE on Rikers Island was found dead in his cell early Thursday, and investigators are looking into whether he overdosed on drugs he took while in custody, police sources said.

Selmin Feratovic, 28, had been held on $50,000 bail since March 25, after a string of theft-related arrests in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

He was trying to negotiate a plea deal and get drug treatment, but couldn’t accept any offer that would make him a target for deportation to Montenegro — which he left as a young child, according to his lawyers.

Just before 3 a.m. Thursday, a correction officer doing rounds at the Otis Barnum Correction Center found Feratovic lifeless in his cell, along with what appeared to be drugs, sources said.

Medical staff pronounced him dead in the jail’s medical clinic about 3:45 a.m. An autopsy is planned for Friday.

“Any death in our custody is a tragedy and Commissioner (Cynthia) Brann extends her heartfelt condolences to the family. An investigation into this death is underway,” said Correction spokesman Peter Thorne.

Police sources said Feratovic had 51 arrests on his record, 13 in March alone.

His offenses in March included damaging a laundromat coin machine in a Bronx apartment building, stealing a tip jar from a Bronx business and taking wallets from purses, police sources said.

The most serious charge he faced was burglary.

“He’s a young man who needed help. He had addiction issues and everybody recognized that he needed a program,” said Alice Fontier, the managing director of the Bronx Defenders.

“He never should have been in jail,” she said. “He shouldn’t have been sitting there for months trying to negotiate something that would keep him in the country.”

Feratovic, who Fontier said was a lawful permanent resident, came to the U.S. when he was 9, and had two young sons.

“He was a good father. It’s a tragedy. We just can’t believe they would allow something like this to happen,” said his sister, Selma Feratovic, 26, as she gathered with other relatives in the family’s Bedford Park home.

“He will be missed by all. His sons will grow up without a father.”