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Arrest made in death
Authorities: Victim met attacker in jail
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Forsyth County News
A Cumming man who died from injuries after an altercation earlier this month was assaulted by someone he had met in jail, authorities say.

Francisco Celestino-Sanchez died last week at North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, where he had been treated since the May 7 attack at his Kelly Mill Road home.

Wednesday night, authorities arrested Martin Nava, 26, on one count each of murder and aggravated assault.

Nava is being held at the Forsyth County Detention Center.

Mitchell Posey, assistant special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Cleveland bureau, said witnesses told authorities that Nava and Celestino-Sanchez had been incarcerated together.

"We pulled information on who he'd been in jail with before and basically he was picked out of a lineup," Posey said.

"We did some cross-referencing with some other things like phone records and eventually got to [Nava]."

Posey said he was not sure what started the fight or why it escalated, though alcohol may have contributed.

It was not clear when, where or on what charges the men had been previously jailed.

The GBI and Cumming police are handling the investigation.

The exact cause of death has not been released, however a police report from the incident indicated Celestino-Sanchez had been beaten and possibly stabbed.

The report said he was found bleeding and unconscious in the driveway of his residence with a beer box and garbage bag full of trash and beer cans on his head.

Blood was found in several places inside and outside the mobile home. Knife marks were found on the exterior of the residence.

Neighbors told officers that Celestino-Sanchez, whose age has not been released, had been drinking that night with his brother and a stranger.

The report said his brother, Enrique Celestino-Sanchez, was also injured and taken to Northside Hospital-Forsyth.