Man dies in custody at Lawrence Police Department, cellmate charged
LAWRENCE – Javier Garcia is facing charges following the death of his cellmate while the men were in custody at the Lawrence Police Department.
Christian Marte-Martinez, 25, of Lawrence died early Saturday morning.
The Essex District Attorney's office said on Sunday that Marte-Martinez was in custody for disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property charges.
Marte-Martinez was sharing a cell with Garcia, a 49-year-old Lawrence man who had been arrested for disorderly conduct.
The DA's office said Marte-Martinez was found unresponsive around 5 a.m. on Saturday. Officers performed CPR and Marte-Martinez was brought to Lawrence General Hospital but did not survive.
Garcia is now also charged with distribution of a Class A substance. He is set to be arraigned on Monday.
