Unanswered Cries: The final hours of Allie Warnick and the unfolding crisis at Benton County Jail
- Dennis McCaslin
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
On February 5, 2025, Allegra "Allie" Warnick, a 29-year-old mother of three, died inside the walls of Benton County Jail. Her final hours were marked by clear signs of distress--pleas for help that went unanswered.
What began as a simple welfare check spiraled into a preventable tragedy, exposing dangerous gaps in training, oversight, and care for detainees struggling with mental health and addiction.
The aftermath of the incident, especially the effort of law enforcement officials, gives the appearance of malfeasance at best and a cover-up at worst.
The sequence of events started on February 4 at Casey’s General Store on Hudson Road. Rogers Police Officer Kaden Dickson responded to a welfare call, finding Allie barefoot by a gas pump, rocking and clutching her dog, Sadie. Body camera footage captured her swaying, incoherent—classic signs of a mental health or substance-related crisis.
Yet, for more than 30 minutes, officers’ responses fluctuated between dismissive and derisive. “She doesn’t seem to be understanding,” one officer remarked. Another chuckled, “She’s out of it.” Despite obvious signs of distress, no EMS was called--a clear violation of standard protocol.
By 4:32 p.m., Allie was arrested on a Franklin County Failure to Appear warrant. Officer Dickson neglected to conduct a search, stating casually, “I don’t think she has anything on her.” Dashcam footage during transport to the jail showed Allie twitching, her breathing labored—potential indications of overdose or severe withdrawal.
Dickson’s response? He turned up Bastille’s “Pompeii” on the radio and, while scoffing at her garbled answers, continued to press her for personal information. Her visible distress was ignored.
Once the Rogers PD vehicle arrived at the jail, Dickson removed a nearly incoherent Allie from the back seat. She can be heard on the body cam video babbling about something to which Dickson replied, “We’re going down here to the store.”
Upon arrival inside the jail, a corrections officer instructed Dickson to turn off his body camera before proceeding.
No medical screening was performed, and Allie was booked without any documented concern for her condition. FOIA-obtained inmate rosters list her as the only unprocessed detainee during her entire 15-hour detention--a glaring red flag indicating protocol failures.
Federal and state regulations require timely medical evaluations for detainees exhibiting signs of crisis.
Allie’s condition—obvious from the initial scene to her booking—was never properly assessed or addressed.
Dickson stated there was no alcohol influence and no drug influence in his report. He did note a mental disorder, although no medical treatment was requested.
She was placed in a “dry cell,” a holding area typically reserved for individuals suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol--yet her intake records listed no such suspicions.
The next morning, at 7:02 a.m. on February 5, Corporal Henry Brockmeyer arrived of the Bentonville PD at the jail to serve a Failure to Appear warrant on another detainee.
Instead, he found chaos: jail staff frantically performing CPR on Allie in the booking area, described in reports as a “significant medical incident.”
At 7:09 a.m., Brockmeyer radioed for EMS. Central EMS arrived within seven minutes and transported Allie--believed to be to Northwest Medical Center—where she was pronounced dead.
The timeline is damning. Fifteen hours elapsed between Allie’s arrival and the call for medical assistance.
The fact that CPR was required suggests her condition had reached a critical crisis point long before intervention. Why was a detainee in clear medical distress left unchecked?
Efforts to clarify the events of that morning have uncovered alarming gaps. Today in
Fort Smith obtained archived radio communications from the Bentonville Police
Department, revealing that Brockmeyer's EMS call was placed at 7:09 a.m.
Just hours after Allie’s death, another woman was booked into the jail at 7:49 a.m. for third-degree assault out pf Grentry. . A FOIA request to the Gentry Police Department yielded body and dash camera footage from the arrest--but conspicuously, no footage exists from her post-arrest booking at Benton County Jail.
Compounding the concern, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office failed to publicly acknowledge Allie’s death for over a month. It wasn’t until Today in Fort Smith broke the story on March 21 that public awareness began to spread.
As of April 11, no official press release has been issued, and only one local television station has covered the incident--likely prompted by the viral circulation of our reports.
Sheriff Shawn Holloway’s office has persistently stonewalled inquiries, citing an “open investigation” under Arkansas Code 25-19-105 to withhold body cam footage, incident logs, and other critical records.
Despite numerous FOIA requests, no staff have been placed on leave, and no independent investigation has been launched. The Sheriff’s Office claims an internal investigation is underway, but details remain undisclosed, deepening public distrust.
After repeated inquiries, Holloway eventually confirmed that preliminary findings from the State Medical Examiner list Allie’s cause of death as “pulmonary anemia.” However, while the complete Medical Examiner’s report has been released to at least one family member, it has yet to be shared with Today in Fort Smith.
Allie’s medical history was complex. She had battled addiction, completed multiple stints in rehabilitation, and endured a turbulent child custody case that ended with a family member gaining permanent custody of her children. Her friends and loved ones viewed her struggles as a cry for help—one that should have led to care, not confinement.
As one advocate said plainly:
“This wasn’t just one mistake—it was a system that failed her.”
Today in Fort Smith will continue to pursue the truth. If you have information about this case, contact us at 479-461-0126.
