Pima County jail death case dismissed

TUCSON, Arizona (13 News) – Branden Roth was beaten and strangled to death by his Pima County jail cellmate, King Yates, in April 2017.

Yates was in prison awaiting trial for the shooting death of his estranged wife, Cassandra, a year ago.

He was eventually found guilty of both murders and is serving two life sentences.

Roth’s family later sued the county for $11 million, claiming he should never have been put in the same cell as someone like Yates, who has been in and out of courtrooms for several years.

King Yates a week before Cassandra was shot charged with criminal possession of a firearm. In May 2012, he was sentenced to prison and community service on drug charges. He violated probation twice, including making harassing phone calls.

He was released in November 2013 and arrested on drug charges less than a year later. Yates was released in September 2016 after being found not guilty.

The $11 million claim, filed in 2018, was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled but a settlement will be reached.

The case has again raised concerns about security at the county jail.

“When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” said Executive Director Caroline Isaacs. Just Communities Arizona.

Isaacs has been advocating for prison reform for years and said he knows Roth’s story very well.

Roth had pleaded guilty to trafficking in stolen goods and was awaiting trial when Yates killed him.

Isaacs said a constant problem he encounters is that non-violent offenders who need help rather than punishment are put in this situation.

“The default response to everything is punishment. Prison means punishment. Policing is about punishment,” Isaacs said. “And somehow that’s supposed to keep us safe. Despite all the evidence that he actually did the exact opposite.”

But Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos disagrees that’s the case in Pima County, adding that jail is a holding area for those awaiting trial, not a place for punishment or rehabilitation.

“There are a lot of people in our prison who probably don’t need to be there,” Nanos said. “But I can’t say that. This is a court of law. That’s what judges do.”

Both Isaacs and Nanos agree that the prison is overcrowded and often understaffed.

Nanos said he is working to solve these problems because they need more staff to have a safe community, including a safe prison.

“There is a direct correlation between decreasing deaths in prison and the number of staff we have now,” Nanos said. “We didn’t have enough staff in the prison.”

Nanos added that without proper staffing, many things become limited; response times, ensuring the safety of the facility and caring for the injured.

Now that the case has been dismissed, distribution of the settlement proceeds awaits legal advice and guidance from the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

13 News doesn’t yet know the details of the deal, but we reached out to Roth’s mother and haven’t heard back from her.

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