Shoplifting Suspect Dies in NYPD Custody While Awaiting Arraignment

A 51-year-old man died while in police custody on March 21 after being arrested on a minor shoplifting charge.

Vincent Thoms of East Harlem was at Manhattan Central Booking when he experienced a medical emergency, police said. After police requested emergency medical services at approximately 6:45 p.m., Thoms was then rushed to New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Thoms was brought in to central booking after allegedly stealing incense sticks from a CVS store in Manhattan earlier in the day, According to PIX11. He was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property and was waiting to be arraigned when the medical emergency began.

After EMS arrived, Thoms had three seizures, according to Gothamist. However, the exact cause of death has not yet been released by Medical Examiner’s Office. The NYPD said that the department’s Force Investigation Division is investigating the incident.

Court records show that Thoms had four other pending criminal cases. In one incident dating back to July 2025, Thoms was represented by the Legal Aid Society.

“We are heartbroken to learn of the death of Vincent Thoms, who died yesterday [March 21] in NYPD custody while waiting to be arraigned on allegations that he stole incense from a CVS—a low-level shoplifting charge,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement. “He spent his final moments languishing in a jail cell.”

The Legal Aid Society noted Thoms’ death is part of a larger issue. Last year, officials reported the deaths of nine people in NYPD custody. Last September, the Legal Aid Society was part of an effort that developed a 10-point plan to address these deaths. In its statement, the Legal Aid Society called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the city legal system to adopt these reforms.