Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York | Department of Justice
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that Da'Quan Tucker has been sentenced to 57 months in prison. The sentence was delivered by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern after Tucker pled guilty in March 2025 to assault with a dangerous weapon and possessing contraband in prison.
On April 3, 2024, Tucker attacked his former cellmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Otisville using a six-inch contraband knife. According to U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, "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." Clayton emphasized that such violence endangers inmates and staff and will be met with serious punishment.
The incident occurred while Tucker was serving time for a robbery committed in July 2023 during his supervised release. After the assault, he expressed intentions to attack the victim again if given the opportunity.
In addition to his prison term, Tucker, aged 23 from Washington D.C., received three years of supervised release. Mr. Clayton expressed gratitude towards FCI Otisville's staff and commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force for their investigative efforts.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shaun E. Werbelow and Justin L. Brooke from the Office’s White Plains Division.
