A Department of Correction detainee died after he climbed a fence and jumped into the East River on Tuesday, marking the 15th city jails-related death this year, officials said. 

Gregory Acevedo, 48, scaled a recreation yard fence at the Vernon C. Bain Center — a floating jail barge across from Rikers Island in Hunts Point — and leaped into the river around 11:45 a.m., a spokesperson for the DOC and a department press release said.

After he jumped, he was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, the release said. 

The city’s medical examiner will determine Acevedo’s cause of death, the DOC said. NY1 has reached out to the medical examiner’s office for comment.

“Mr. Acevedo’s tragic passing is an immense loss,” DOC Commissioner Louis Molina said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones at this difficult time.” 

Acevedo was being held on a first-degree robbery charge, and had been in DOC custody since Feb. 27 of this year, according to the release. His death came less than a week after a 35-year-old inmate died by suicide at the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island. 

The DOC on Wednesday said Acevedo was the 14th person to die in DOC custody this year. A 15th inmate, however, died days after he was granted compassionate release following a suicide attempt.  

In 2021, the city recorded 16 Rikers-related deaths.