Lawsuit filed in woman’s death while jailed

Sheriffs, jailers in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba counties named in suit

SANTA FE — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against sheriffs and jail wardens in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties, two years after a female inmate held in both county jails died of serious medical issues.

The suit, filed this week in Santa Fe District Court on behalf of Stacy Gambler, says the Rio Arriba County jail has a “policy or custom” of ignoring inmates’ medical needs. Gambler was found unresponsive in her Rio Arriba cell late May 2, 2015, and died the next day after she was flown to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

Her autopsy said she died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to cirrhosis of the liver from chronic alcohol abuse. The new court filing says between 1/4 and 1/3 of the blood in her body had drained into her abdominal cavity.

Both counties’ boards of commissioners, Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert A. Garcia, Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan, Santa Fe County jail warden Mark Caldwell and Rio Arriba County jail head Larry DeYapp are named as defendants. Gambler’s estate is asking for a jury to award compensatory damages and court fees.

DeYapp has previously denied Gambler wasn’t provided with medical care. “She received medical attention in Santa Fe and she received medical attention in our jail,” he said in 2015. “... An inmate died and that’s a tragedy.”

As the Journal has previously reported, Gambler, who was 36 years old, was arrested April 18, 2015 by Santa Clara Pueblo police

on warrants for failing to appear and pay fines in two separate Rio Arriba Magistrate Court cases of driving without a license and not wearing a seat belt. She was taken to the Santa Fe County lockup, where a medical intake examination showed “serious medical concerns over alcohol abuse, alcohol withdrawal, and related medical issues.” She was placed in the medical unit until April 24, 2015.

Gambler was then transported to the Rio Arriba jail, where she continued to show signs of distress and told an unnamed medical staffer about it, the suit states. “Although Ms. Gambler repeatedly informed correctional employees, including John/ Jane Doe 2, that she was very ill, medical assistance was not made available to Ms. Gambler by the Rio Arriba Defendants during the weekend in which she was booked,” the suit states.

She wasn’t provided appropriate medical assistance until May 2, when jail medical personnel examined her and requested she be taken to the hospital. But, the suit maintains, “The Rio Arriba Defendants failed to transport Ms. Gambler to a hospital pursuant to the medical demand.” She was found unresponsive in her cell the next day and died after she was airlifted to the Santa Fe hospital.