New Yorker arrested for shoplifting dies in custody: NYPD

An East Village man arrested for a string of thefts at a Greenwich Village store, Duane Reed, has died while in police custody, according to the NYPD.

Travis Durkin, 47, was charged with stealing $455 worth of merchandise from a pharmacy on West Fourth Street near Broadway on Jan. 15 and $1,238 worth of merchandise on Jan. 16, police said.

When Durkin returned to the same Duane Reed on January 18, he allegedly tried to steal $40 worth of goods, but this time the police took him into custody, the NYPD said.

Police said he was charged with two counts of illegal possession of stolen property, two counts of grand theft and one count of petty theft.

According to the NYPD, after his arrest on January 18, Durkin was found unconscious in a holding cell and taken to the central cash register in Manhattan, where he awaited arraignment.

He was pronounced dead on Thursday, police said Friday.

“He died a few weeks after he was hospitalized,” an NYPD spokeswoman confirmed on Saturday.

The incident is being investigated by the NYPD Investigations Unit.