Eastern Shore Caregiver Charged with Neglect of Vulnerable Adult

BALTIMORE, MD (June 11, 2008) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that former awake overnight caregiver, Renald Nelo Orneus was charged by Criminal Information in the Circuit Court of Wicomico County with one count of Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult for leaving a developmentally disabled individual who was in his care alone and unattended from the evening of September 5, 2007 through the early morning of September 6, 2007.

Orneus, of the 700 block of Division Street in Salisbury, was charged with intentionally failing to provide the necessary assistance and resources for a developmentally disabled individual who resided in a group home run by Bay Shore Services, Inc. in Wicomico County. Bay Shore Services, Inc. is a nonprofit organization designed to enable people with disabilities be independent in their community.

Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult is a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. A Criminal Information is merely an allegation of criminal conduct and all persons are considered innocent unless they are proven guilty. An arraignment is scheduled in Wicomico County Circuit Court for June 13, 2008. This case is being prosecuted by Attorney General Gansler’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, based upon a referral from the Maryland Board of Nursing.