A Rikers Island corrections officer was arrested after investigators say he took three knives into the jail.
Jail security stopped Angelo Martinez, 51, after finding a folding knife with a 4-inch blade in his duffel bag during a routine X-ray screening as he was starting his shift Wednesday afternoon around 3 p.m., according to the city’s department of investigation.
As security officers reported the discovery, Martinez could be seen on surveillance video taking a second knife with a 4-inch blade, concealing it in his hand and placing it in a lock box, according to the DOI. When investigators later searched Martinez’s lock box, they allegedly found a third knife with a 2-inch blade.
Officers can keep their firearms in lock boxes just outside the entrance to the jail, but knives are prohibited in jail facilities, including employee lockers.
Martinez, who has been with the corrections department since 2007, was charged with three counts of promoting prison contraband. He was suspended without pay and placed in police custody.
It’s unknown if he has an attorney.
