Rikers Island notches sixth inmate death on year so far

A Staten Island murder suspect died on Rikers Island Saturday — the sixth death at the dysfunctional jail complex this year and the third in under a month.

Emanuel Sullivan’s death, which was announced late Saturday, comes as the city tries to enact an action plan to stave off a federal takeover of Rikers Island.

A correction officer found Sullivan, 20, dead in his bed about 4:25 p.m. in the Robert N. Davoren Center.

“The housing area was staffed, and all tours were conducted throughout the day,” the Department of Correction said in a statement. “Mr. Sullivan’s passing fills our hearts with grief, as we understand everyone entrusted to our care is someone’s loved one. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family.”

Correction officials did not elaborate on his suspected cause of death or the circumstances of how he was found. Sullivan’s lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment Sunday.

Sullivan was one of four suspects accused of killing Tamer Shaarawy, a body-building father of two, during a home invasion heist on Hinton St. in Greenridge.

One of his accomplices, Kaitlyn Reuter, trained with Shaarawy and is accused of orchestrating the robbery, keeping in contact with the other three members of the crew through text messages, the Staten Island Advance reported.

Sullivan’s death comes 10 days after Mary Yehudah, 31, died after overdosing on drugs at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island.

The Daily News has reported on staffing breakdowns that preceded the deaths of three other Rikers Island inmates this year. In each of the three cases, correction staff either did not do required rounds or were absent from the units when the detainees went into medical distress, according to the Board of Correction.

A lack of pysch treatment preceded the May 7 death of Dashawn Carter, 25, the fourth inmate to die this year. Carter , who hanged himself in his cell in general population, had a history of suicide attempts.