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Who is David Mordukhaev? NYC inmate caught 12 hours after escaping Bronx barge jail

David Mordukhaev, who allegedly has ties to a Russian gang, escaped the floating prison in The Bronx through his cell window

BRONX, NEW YORK CITY: The police authorities have re-arrested a prisoner just hours after he escaped the floating prison in The Bronx through his cell window. This man was allegedly arrested last year for impersonating a cop.

David Mordukhaev, who allegedly has ties to a Russian gang, escaped from the Vernon C Bain Correctional Center, Halleck Street on Saturday, June 10, police said. Mordukhaev escaped from the floating jail off the Bronx known as “The Barge”, police said. The department tweeted: "Have you seen David Mordukhaev? Earlier this morning he escaped from an NYC Correctional Facility at 1 Halleck St in the Bronx. If you have any information on his whereabouts contact @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS." They later updated: "UPDATE: David has been apprehended."

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Mordukhaev's made his prison break early morning just hours after suspicious federal investigators told the Correctional Facility to check on him around 1am. At the time, officials were told that Mordukhaev, 30, was still inside his cell. When a second call was placed at 4.30am, Mordukhaev was nowhere to be found. Only his prison clothes remained. 

Before officers apprehended Mordukhaev, the facility was on lockdown as a hunt was underway for the missing inmate. "No escape from our facilities is ever acceptable and we are taking every step to locate and return this individual to custody," city Department of Corrections spokesman Peter Thorne said. "A thorough investigation into how this occurred is underway to ensure that this does not happen again, and disciplinary action if warranted, will be taken at the conclusion of the investigation," the authorities said. Investigators said he may have had a car waiting to collect him after his escape. Mordukhaev was caught within 12 hours of his escape.

Mordukhaev was put behind bars after an April 2020 robbery in Brooklyn. He apparently attempted to impersonate a cop during the execution of the crime and got arrested in August 2020 and was charged with robbery and criminal impersonation of an officer. He was due back in court for those charges at the end of July. The Bain Correction Center is an 800-bed barge used to hold inmates for the city's Department of Correction. The ship is tied up off the South Bronx. Mordukhaev was also sentenced in December 2013 to 65 months in prison for his involvement in a plot to rob a New Jersey pharmacy and then sell the stolen drugs.