TWO FORMER CAREGIVERS CHARGED WITH NEGLECT OF A VULNERABLE ADULT

Maryland Attorney General J.Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that two former caregivers of the Chimes, Inc. have each been charged in separate Criminal Informations with Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult and Reckless Endangerment for leaving a developmentally disabled woman alone and unattended in a van while they went shopping.

Latosha Nicole Brooks, 21, of the 3800 block of Bonview Avenue and Terri Sha-Nae Lee, 21, of the 3200 block of Lawnview Avenue were charged in Baltimore County Circuit Court. Both Defendants were also charged separately in the District Court for Baltimore County by the Baltimore County State’s Attorneys Office with Theft. Brooks and Lee had been arrested during the June 29, 2004 shopping spree for shoplifting while they left the developmentally disabled woman alone in the van. Trial on the theft charges is scheduled for November 30, 2004. A trial date has not yet been set for the Neglect charges.

Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult is a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. Reckless Endangerment is a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. A Criminal Information is an accusation, and all persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has authority to prosecute abuse or neglect in facilities that receive Medicaid funds.

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