The GBI is investigating after a Dawson County inmate died Tuesday morning.

Sheriff Jeff Johnson said in a Facebook post that a young man died while in custody at the Dawson County Detention Center. He said a jail officer was conducting a check when the inmate was found lying unresponsive in his cell.

The sheriff later identified the man as 18-year-old Jonathan Sanford. The GBI will perform his autopsy.

“We ask that you join us as we continue to keep this family in our prayers,” Johnson said in the post.

No other information has been released. The GBI did not comment on the ongoing investigation.

In other news:

Viral video on social media and body camera footage showed officers use Tasers on two students, Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim, as they sat in their car.

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com