A new federal civil-rights lawsuit is turning a harsh spotlight back on the Otero County Detention Center in Alamogordo, alleging staff and contractors failed to protect a detainee with a documented suicide risk and left her unresponsive in her cell with extensive, permanent brain damage.
The complaint, filed April 29 by Ann Marie Culp as parent and next friend of detainee Naomi Laycock, targets Otero County commissioners, detention staff, and the jail's medical contractor and argues that officials fell short of basic obligations to keep Laycock safe.
New federal complaint
According to Justia Dockets & Filings, the case, titled Laycock v. Otero County, No. 2:2026cv01338, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico on April 29. The filing lists Culp as the plaintiff and names the Otero County Board of County Commissioners, former detention director Nena Sisler, detention officer Ruben Garza, Martin Cook, and Vital Core Health Strategies, LLC as defendants.
Allegations and timeline
As reported by 2nd Life Media Alamogordo Town News, the complaint states that Laycock was booked into the Otero County Detention Center on June 3, 2025, after transfer paperwork dated May 12 flagged "caution: suicide" and ordered strict suicide precautions.
The lawsuit alleges that surveillance footage on June 9 and 10 showed Laycock pacing, talking to herself, and wrapping a towel and blanket around her neck, yet staff welfare checks allegedly stretched from 58 minutes to nearly four hours before she was discovered unresponsive in her cell. Nurses are reported to have performed CPR until her pulse returned, and she was transported first to Christus Southern New Mexico, then airlifted to University Medical Center in El Paso. The complaint says Laycock suffered extensive, permanent brain damage.
Court status and county contacts
The court docket currently lists only the complaint and case assignment and shows no formal answer has been filed yet, according to Justia Dockets & Filings.
The Otero County website lists Nena Sisler as Correctional Services Director and provides contact information for the detention center in Alamogordo, per Otero County.
A backdrop of earlier suits and local reaction
Advocates and local leaders say the new complaint lands in a familiar context. Otero County agreed in February to a roughly $2.01 million settlement in a separate wrongful-death suit after the 2023 suicide of Jacob Gutierrez, reporting by the Santa Fe New Mexican showed.
At a May 5 forum, candidates and community members pressed county leaders for reforms and enhanced training, according to 2nd Life Media Alamogordo Town News.
Legal stakes
The complaint brings two counts: deliberate indifference to serious medical and mental-health needs under the Fourteenth Amendment, and municipal liability for unconstitutional policy or practice, according to filings available through the docket of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. If those claims clear early procedural hurdles, they could open the door to discovery into county policies and the practices of the jail's health contractor and could result in damages or policy changes.
What happens next
The case now moves through the federal system, where defendants will have an opportunity to respond and may seek dismissal or other relief. Future filings, deadlines, and any scheduled hearings will continue to appear on the public docket as the lawsuit progresses.
