Bronx DA: Rikers Island Inmate Sentenced To 3 ½ Years In Prison For Assaulting NYC Correction Officer, Breaking His Jaw

RIKERS ISLAND INMATE SENTENCED TO 3 ½ YEARS IN PRISON

FOR ASSAULTING NYC CORRECTION OFFICER, BREAKING HIS JAW

Officer Has Permanent Plate in Jaw

 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Rikers Island inmate has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for punching a New York City Department of Correction Officer, causing extensive injury to his jaw.

 

District Attorney Clark said, “This unprovoked assault has caused long-term damage and pain to a Correction Officer. He has a permanent plate in his jaw. The defendant will serve this prison time consecutive to any time he may receive on his pending homicide case. Inmates must know they will be held accountable for vicious, senseless attacks on staff.”

          District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Tariq Hargorve, (AKA Tariq Hargrove), 22, of Brooklyn, NY was sentenced today to three and a half years in prison, and five years post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Hornstein. Hargorve pleaded guilty to Assault on a Peace Officer and second-degree Assault on January 30, 2019.

             According to the investigation, Hargorve was speaking on an inmate phone in the George Mochan Detention Center on April 11, 2017, and when he hung up, he allegedly punched Correction Officer Richy Herrera Castillo in the face for no apparent reason. Officer Castillo stumbled backwards from the blow and Hargorve left the area, continuing to yell at the officer. The incident was captured on video.

           The officer was hospitalized and underwent extensive surgery. A plate was implanted in his jaw, a molar that was knocked loose by the punch had to be removed. He required physical therapy and suffered considerable pain and difficulty speaking as a result of his injuries.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sarah L. Clements of the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau, under the supervision of Donald Hanratty; Deputy Chief of the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau; Francis Alberts, Deputy Chief of the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau; Deanna Logan, Chief of the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau; and the overall supervision of Tarek Rahman, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Jean T. Walsh, Chief of the Investigations Division.

District Attorney Clark thanked James Brennan, Deputy Chief of the Trial Division, for his assistance with the case. District Attorney Clark thanked Department of Correction Investigators Daniel Monaco and Scott Frank, and the DOC’s Correction Intelligence Bureau for their assistance in the case.