Bronx Fugitive Apprehended After Police Van Escape, NYPD Faces Security Scrutiny

Early Tuesday morning in the Bronx, a dramatic situation unfolded as Anthony Riser, a 27-year-old man previously arrested for murder, managed to make an unexpected escape while being transported in an NYPD van. According to Gothamist, Riser was charged with the December 21 shooting death of his neighbor, Richard Spigner. However, at approximately 5:30 a.m., Riser slipped out of the van, his hands still cuffed—but now in front of him instead of behind his back—as the vehicle was near Claremont Parkway and Washington Avenue in Morrisania.

The NYPD actioned a manhunt that lasted nearly four hours, eventually recapturing the fugitive behind a small apartment building on Park Avenue. Police discovered him not far to have traveled from the point of his escape. Riser, who was arrested the previous day on charges including murder and manslaughter related to Spigner's killing, is now facing a felony charge of first-degree escape. He is due in Bronx Criminal Court today for his arraignment on both the homicide and the escape allegations. His court-appointed attorney, Porsha Shaf'on Venable, declined to comment when reached.

An 81-year-old resident, Erodita Agard, expressed her fear as the drama unfolded in her yard. “ [Police] tried to come into my home and say, ‘There's a murderer in my backyard,’” Gothamist quotes her saying. She only understood the gravity of the situation upon seeing Riser surrounded by police, attempting to forcibly open her back door, which fortunately was jammed.

The incident has also raised questions about the detainee transport procedures of the NYPD. This escape comes on the heels of another inmate, Eric Cruz, finding a path to slip away from police custody at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia in Manhattan, as noted in a report by the New York Daily News. Riser was one of three prisoners being moved from the 48th Precinct to central booking when the breakout occurred, prompting a deployment of officers to conduct an intense search throughout the neighborhood.

The addition of a first-degree escape charge to Riser's docket will be reviewed in court.