Murders, mayhem and officer’s gunfire lead to charges at Brooklyn jail where ‘Diddy’ is held

NEW YORK (AP) — Two inmates stabbed to death. Another speared in the spine with a makeshift icepick. A correctional officer charged with shooting at a car during an unauthorized high-speed chase.

Criminal charges unsealed Monday offer a fresh window into violence and dysfunction that has plagued the Brooklyn federal jail where Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried are locked up.

In all, federal prosecutors charged nine inmates in connection with a spate of attacks from April to August at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the only federal jail in New York City. The charges come amid a push by the Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons to fix problems at the jail and hold perpetrators accountable.

Andrew Simpson and Devone Thomas were charged with murder in a federal detention facility for allegedly stabbing inmate Uriel Whyte to death on June 7. Jamaul Aziz, James Bazemore and Alberto Santiago were charged with premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder within a federal detention facility in the July 17 killing of inmate Edwin Cordero. Makeshift weapons were used in both attacks, prosecutors said.

Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers who represented Thomas, Aziz, Bazemore and Santiago in their previous cases. Simpson’s lawyer declined to comment.

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