VALDOSTA — The death of a Valdosta State Prison inmate early Tuesday is being investigated as a homicide, according to authorities.

Agents with the Georgia Department of Corrections’ Office of Professional Standards believe Orvonta Tillman died as a result of injuries sustained during an altercation with another inmate, according to a corrections department statement released Thursday.

Emergency medical personnel responded, but Tillman was pronounced dead at the facility by Lowndes County Coroner Austin Fiveash at approximately 1 a.m. The corrections department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are investigating the death, the statement said.

Fiveash said Tillman’s body was sent to the GBI crime lab in Atlanta for an autopsy.

Tillman was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2011 in Gwinnett County for armed robbery and kidnapping.

Tillman’s death is the latest in a long string of fatalities at Valdosta State Prison in recent years:

• Prince Blige, 55, died Feb. 11; he was believed to have been killed in an innate fight, the corrections department said.

• On Sept. 5, Brodrick Seals, 28, died after being found unresponsive in his cell; authorities believe his death was a suicide.

• Elander Johnson died July 25 as a result of injuries apparently sustained during an altercation involving another inmate in a case being investigated as a homicide, according to the corrections department.

• On May 26, guards found Astair Holmes Jr. unresponsive in his cell; prison officials were investigating his death as a possible suicide.

• Inmate Simon Warren died April 14 after a suicide attempt, according to state prison officials.

• Kealy Williams, 37, died March 30 from injuries caused by a fight with another inmate, according to a corrections department statement.

• In August 2018, Joshua Roman died of injuries sustained in a fight, according to the corrections department.

• In July 2018, Herman Galeno, 31, was found unresponsive in his cell.

• In June 2018, David Cordova was found unresponsive in his cell.

• In April 2018, Joseph Pagen’s death following a fight was investigated as a homicide, the corrections department said.

• In March 2018, Benjamin Snyder died following an inmate fight; the corrections department investigated his death as a homicide.

• On Dec. 4, 2017, inmate Jenna Mitchell died of apparent suicide. Her family has filed a lawsuit against the state prison system claiming her death was due to deliberate “indifference” to her medical and mental health needs, according to court documents.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.