Citing COVID-19 risk, judge orders release of defendant from Queens private jail

A Brooklyn federal judge ordered the release of a defendant held at the Queens Detention Facility, operated by GEO Group. The judge cited the risk from the coronavirus. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

By David Brand

A Brooklyn federal judge on Tuesday ordered the release of a defendant charged with conspiracy to sell methamphetamine from a private jail in Queens, citing the spread of the coronavirus at the lockup. 

Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein declined to set bail on defendant Rasedur Raihan and instead issued $100,000 bond and electronic monitoring, Inner CIty Press reported.  

More than 16 percent of inmates have been diagnosed with COVID-19 at the Queens Detention Facility, which is operated by private prison corporation GEO Group under contract with the U.S. Marshals Service.

“At GEO, the virus is spreading,” Orenstein said. “I cannot say the risk of non-appearance is near the risk of death. I am ordering Mr. Raihan released.”

A handful of inmates have been released from the privately run lockup — located in an industrial zone near JFK Airport — as the coronavirus crisis intensifies inside the seven dormitory housing units. A federal judge freed the jail’s most famous inmate, Brooklyn rapper Tekashi 69, earlier this month.

At least 36 inmates in the 222-bed facility have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday, according to a court-mandated report. The number of inmates with confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by 1700 percent in 10 days. At least 10 staff members have also tested positive for the illness. 

Six inmates and the wives of two others have contacted the Eagle in recent weeks to describe the worsening conditions inside the jail.

“Everyone’s coughing, sneezing on top of each other,” said one inmate, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “We’re not practicing social distancing because you cannot do social distancing in this jail because everyone is so on top of each other.”