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Inmate Found Dead In Essex County, N.J. Jail Cell

NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Authorities in Essex County, N.J., were investigating the suspicious death this weekend of an inmate at the county jail.

Desmond Sanders, 27, was found unresponsive around 5:30 a.m. Sunday in a cell he shared with another male inmate, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's office.

Emergency Medical Services crews from University Hospital responded, and Sanders was pronounced dead just before 6:30 a.m. in his cell, prosecutors said.

Authorities said the death appeared to have stemmed from a fight between the cell mates. The investigation continued late Sunday.

Sanders and the cellmate had been incarcerated since June 13 after being arrested in connection with a shooting in Newark, prosecutors said.

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