A prisoner with a lengthy rap sheet escaped from custody at Bellevue Hospital Monday morning — fleeing in nothing but a hospital gown, authorities said.
Harry Maldonado, 55, bolted from the prison ward at the hospital on First Avenue near East 28th Street around 3:50 a.m., according to the city Department of Correction.
While DOC officials said Maldonado was in the prison ward, a department source said he was not “behind the gate” but rather “on a floor with patients” and, per doctor’s orders, was not shackled.
“This wasn’t an erroneous discharge,” the source said. “This guy actually escaped. Just walked out [of] the hospital.”
Maldonado was wearing a hospital gown, a black hat and black sunglasses when he took off, according to the NYPD.
He was first taken into custody Thursday on charges related to attempted burglary, larceny and parole violation, according to the DOC.
State Corrections records show Maldonado was released on parole in 2015 after serving nearly 16 years on an attempted burglary charge.
Maldonado was also paroled in 1997, after serving a little more than seven year for second-degree burglary. In 1988, he did more than three years for second-degree attempted burglary.
It was not immediately clear how Maldonado managed to escape, and the agency said a full investigation is underway.
“Safely monitoring those in our custody is a core part of our mission and this is extremely disturbing,” DOC Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said in a statement. “We take escapes and attempted escapes very seriously and we are investigating exactly how this happened. Teams from our Correction Intelligence Bureau are working with NYPD to bring this individual back into custody as quickly as possible.”
Maldonado was on a floor with regular patients as per a DOC policy for defendants who are admitted to the hospital, according to the source. Once admitted, one of the two guards tasked with monitoring the detainee returns to Rikers Island, while the other stays behind at the hospital, the source explained.
“Terrible policy, but that’s been the policy,” the source added.
The doctor also has the authority to decide whether the inmate should be shackled, according to the source.
It is unclear when Maldonado was admitted.