Brandon Yates’ parents say their son spent roughly an hour begging for help before he was killed inside the San Diego Central Jail, and an amended federal complaint filed this month lays out what they describe as a chain of preventable failures by jail staff. The lawsuit claims deputies and jail clinicians overlooked warnings that should have kept Yates away from the man who ultimately attacked him and that the county’s medical contractor did not provide adequate mental-health supervision. The family is seeking damages and policy changes while criminal charges against the cellmate continue to move slowly through the system.
As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, the amended complaint says deputies placed Yates into the cell of Alvin Ruis on Jan. 16, 2024, despite warnings from other inmates that “there would be trouble.” The filing alleges Yates repeatedly pressed the cell emergency intercom and yelled that he was going to be killed, but deputies either ignored the calls or muted the intercom for nearly an hour before finally checking the cell. According to the complaint, Yates was found dead less than 24 hours after he had been booked into the jail.
According to KPBS, the suit outlines Ruis’ long history of psychosis, multiple involuntary hospitalizations, and repeated placements in enhanced observation housing, details the family argues should have ruled out housing him with another inmate. The complaint further alleges that classification deputies failed to reclassify Ruis after he assaulted a deputy, a change that under county policy would have barred him from shared housing, and that clinicians did not recommend moving him to the jail’s psychiatric stabilization unit even as his behavior reportedly deteriorated. Family attorneys say those decisions add up to deliberate indifference and reveal systemic policy breakdowns.
Allegations of torture and staging
The complaint portrays a prolonged and brutal attack. It alleges that Ruis put Yates in a chokehold, poured liquid soap into his nose and mouth and smothered him with a blanket until he stopped breathing, then stripped and sexually assaulted him, according to The Washington Post. Investigators later quoted Ruis as saying he believed Yates was the devil and that God had given him permission to kill. The filing further claims Ruis staged the body to resemble a crucifixion. Other inmates, the complaint says, tried to get help by pressing panic buttons and shouting for deputies, but their calls went unanswered.
County response and legal tug-of-war
The amended complaint names the County of San Diego, Sheriff Kelly Martinez, and medical contractor NaphCare as defendants and accuses them of “deliberate indifference,” according to family lawyers who have outlined the claims in court filings and public statements. As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, the county filed a countersuit on Sept. 27, 2025, seeking indemnification and reimbursement of legal costs related to the case. NaphCare, the Alabama-based firm that took over jail health services in mid-2022, has denied wrongdoing in public comments and in its own court filings…