Local News

Man who died in Lawrence Police custody was given drugs by cellmate, DA says

Christian Marte-Martinez was found unresponsive in a cell at Lawrence Police Headquarters that he shared with Javier Garcia.

April 30, 2023

1 minute to read

A Lawrence man is being charged in connection with the death of another man while the two shared a cell at the Lawrence Police Department headquarters.

Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s office announced Saturday that Christian Marte-Martinez, 25, of Lawrence died after being arrested Friday night.

Javier Garcia, 49, is now facing charges for supplying drugs to another person in police custody, Tucker’s office said in a release Sunday.

Garcia had been arrested this weekend for disorderly conduct.

Marte-Martinez had been arrested for disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property. He was placed in a cell at the department’s headquarters, located at 90 Lowell St., at 1:15 a.m. Saturday. Garcia was already being held in the cell when Marte-Martinez was placed there.

Police discovered Marte-Martinez unresponsive at about 5 a.m. Saturday. They began CPR and other live-saving measures to no avail. Marte-Martinez was brought to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Garcia is now set to face an additional charge of Distribution of a Class A Substance. Authorities did not specify what drugs Garcia allegedly gave to Marte-Martinez. Garcia will be arraigned in Lawrence District Court as early as Monday morning.

The incident remains under investigation by detectives from the State Police and Lawrence Police.