Thu Jun 5, 7:19 AM ET
By MICHELE MCPHEE
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
New York Daily News
A Rikers Island guard has been suspended in connection with the killing of an inmate whose death at the hands of another convict was an apparent case of mistaken identity, the Daily News has learned.
City Correction Officer Charles Carrington was suspended without pay while officials investigate the failure to secure a cell-block door used by the alleged killer to get to his victim, according to law enforcement sources.
But investigators also are exploring the possibility Carrington was involved in the death plot, allegedly carried out by a reputed Latin Kings gang member, the sources said.
Carrington is believed to have left a door leading into cell block “8-Upper,” which allowed the gang member to slip in with a 9-inch sharpened stick of metal that was used to fatally stab John Smith, 35, the sources said.
A second guard who worked with Carrington, Officer Melissa Hall, was placed on modified duty, prison officials said.
Correction Department spokesman Thomas Antenen refused comment on the moves, citing an investigation.
‘Hopped on dope’
Smith was mistaken for another inmate who owed the Latin Kings gang money for heroin, the sources said.
The fatal stabbing took place around 5 p.m. Friday, as Smith awaited his turn for pay phones in the medium-security wing at the prison.
“The guy [killer] was all hopped on dope, and he thought John Smith was the guy who owed the Kings money,” said one inmate, who spoke to The News on the condition of anonymity. “He hit the wrong guy.”
The inmate’s story was bolstered by law enforcement sources, who said the investigation has not disproved that theory.
“It’s possible that Smith was not the intended target,” said one source. “We are investigating why the door was opened.”
No one has been arrested in connection with Smith’s slaying, but sources said the alleged Latin Kings gang member being held in another cell block at Rikers Island is expected to be charged.
“The investigation is still being conducted,” Antenen said.
Antenen said the Bronx district attorney’s office is leading the probe into Smith’s murder - the first on Rikers Island since 2001, when three inmates were killed.
A spokeswoman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson refused comment on the case yesterday.
Smith was serving a one-year sentence for petty larceny, Antenen said. He began serving that sentence April 13. He also was facing additional time for an unrelated petty larceny charge.
Norman Seabrook, president of the correction officers union, said of the slaying, “Incidents like this are going to happen. Staffing levels are the lowest since 1995.” Originally published on June 5, 2003