United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, has announced that Da’Quan Tucker received a 57-month prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern delivered the sentence following Tucker’s guilty plea in March 2025 to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and possessing contraband in prison.
Tucker’s conviction stems from an incident on April 3, 2024, at Federal Correctional Institution Otisville. He was found guilty of stabbing his former cellmate multiple times in the head and face with a six-inch contraband knife. At the time, Tucker was serving a sentence related to a robbery committed in July 2023 while on supervised release.
“Da’Quan Tucker brutally attacked a fellow inmate in the prison yard at FCI Otisville without provocation by repeatedly stabbing him in the head and face with a contraband knife,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Violence like this risks the lives and safety of inmates and prison staff and will not be tolerated in federal prison. Today’s sentence demonstrates that such conduct will be met with serious punishment.”
After the assault, Tucker reportedly told prison staff he would attack the victim again if given another opportunity.
In addition to his prison term, Tucker, aged 23 from Washington D.C., has been sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Clayton expressed gratitude towards FCI Otisville staff for their assistance and commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force.
The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shaun E. Werbelow and Justin L. Brooke leading the prosecution.
