An inmate slipped out of his handcuffs and escaped from police custody at Bellevue Hospital Wednesday as officials prepared to bring him back to Rikers Island, officials and sources said.
James Mossetty, 35, was being prepared for transport in a vehicle from the Kips Bay Hospital back to the Otis Bantum Correctional Center within the jail complex when he shimmied out of his cuffs and ran off, according to law enforcement sources and the city’s Department of Correction.
Mossetty made his way onto the nearby FDR Drive and hasn’t been seen since, according to cops.
Mossetty – who was arrested on Jan. 6 for assault, theft of services and criminal possession of a controlled substance – was in the DOC’s custody and initially taken to Bellevue because of a medical issue, according to Annais Morales, a department spokeswoman.
The DOC, NYPD and US Marshals are working together to track him down.
He is described as about 5-foot-6 and 180 pounds, last seen wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweatpants, black glasses and black shoes, cops said.
Mossetty was in custody for punching a man in the face in Midtown back on July 30, 2021 – and two raps rom Aug. 9, 2023: one for refusing to pay a $36 taxi fare in Lower Manhattan, and the other for stashing a bag of meth in his sock, according to the criminal complaints.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.