Federal lawsuit filed alleging wrongful death in Benton County jail incident involving Allegra Tiara Warnick

Alegra Tiara Warnick

The family of 28-year-old Allegra Tiara Warnick has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Benton County, Sheriff Shawn Holloway, the Rogers Police Department, and two of its officers of deliberate indifference and civil rights violations that led to Warnick’s death inside the Benton County Jail earlier this year.

Filed August 13 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, the complaint paints a harrowing picture of neglect, mocking, and a complete denial of medical care to a woman in clear distress.

On February 4, 2025, Rogers police officers Riley McCarver and Kaden Dickson encountered Warnick at a Casey’s gas station on Hudson Road during a welfare check. Witnesses told police she was “coming down off something hard” and in need of help.

Instead of receiving medical attention, the lawsuit says officers laughed at her, mocked her behavior, and even dismissed her pleas for medication. Officer McCarver reportedly commented on her wearing hospital socks, calling it a “tell” of her condition.

Warnick repeatedly told the officers she was in withdrawal, needed her prescriptions, and was in medical distress. Officer Dickson allegedly told her, “I don’t think it’s life or death,” when she begged for her medication.

Officer Dickson transported Warnick to the Benton County Jail. According to the complaint, he turned up his stereo volume during the drive to drown out her pleas. By the time they arrived, Warnick was disoriented, rocking back and forth, and visibly ill.

Still, no medical evaluation was requested. Jail staff accepted her into custody “as is,” placing her in a dry cell without treatment. She was not booked through the system and, according to the lawsuit, was the only inmate that day who failed to complete the booking process--because she was physically unable to.

Video evidence reportedly shows Warnick in “extreme physical and mental distress” during her confinement. She begged for help and for medication, but her cries were ignored.

By 6:30 a.m. the following day, deputies found her unresponsive in her cell. According to Sheriff Holloway’s statement to her family, she was transported to the hospital but died shortly afterward. The lawsuit disputes that account, stating Warnick was left unattended for nearly 15 hours before EMS was called.

A Bentonville Police Department officer who entered the jail at 7:09 a.m. that morning requested EMS and was told by jail staff that Narcan had been administered. It was the first documented attempt at medical intervention since Warnick’s arrest. By then, it was too late.

The Estate of Allegra Warnick, represented by attorney Lloyd W. “Tre” Kitchens of The Brad Hendricks Law Firm, brings three legal claims:

• Violation of 42 U.S.C. §1983 (Deliberate Indifference) – alleging Warnick’s constitutional rights were violated when her obvious medical needs were ignored.

• Violation of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act – asserting state-level protections against deprivation of rights.

• Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress – citing the alleged mocking and taunting by officers while Warnick suffered.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages exceeding $75,000 and requests a jury trial.

Benton County Jail has faced scrutiny before. In recent years, lawsuits and public records have highlighted a troubling pattern of alleged neglect and inadequate medical care for inmates experiencing withdrawal, mental health crises, or medical emergencies.

Civil rights advocates say Warnick’s case underscores systemic failures in Arkansas county jails, where individuals in custody are constitutionally entitled to medical care but too often die after cries for help are ignored.

“This is not just about one woman,” a local criminal justice advocate told Today in Fort Smith. “This is about a system where punishment takes priority over humanity. Allegra Warnick was begging for help, and instead of care, she got cruelty.”

Trenton Reicks, appointed by the Circuit Court of Crawford County as Special Administrator of Warnick’s estate, signed the verification of the lawsuit. The case--2:25-cv-02085-TLB--is pending before Judge Timothy L. Brooks in the Fayetteville Division of the Western District of Arkansas.

If the court allows it to proceed, Warnick’s death may become the latest flashpoint in a growing debate over jail accountability in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.