WPBN: Four individuals were charged by the Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Division of the New Mexico Department of Justice of mistreating residents at assisted living facilities.
Edwars D. Bonilla-Aguinada, Linda Romero, Lee Carrizales, and Salomon Sanchez are all accused of Abuse of a Resident; if found guilty, they might each spend up to six months behind bars.
“Salomon Sanchez, an employee at Community Options, Inc., a Developmental Disabilities Waiver group home in Santa Fe, was captured on video forcibly grabbing a resident, shoving the victim’s face toward a table, and refusing assistance while making degrading comments,” a New Mexico DOJ spokesperson stated on Tuesday.
The arrests of Sanchez and the other defendants, according to New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, send a “clear message” that the state will not stand for the mistreatment of those who are most vulnerable.
“Lee Carrizales, an employee at Pacifica Senior Living Facility, is charged with two counts of Abuse of a Resident for verbally assaulting two facility members,” the DOJ spokesperson stated. “Videos of this abuse were posted on Facebook and alerted to our office by the New Mexico Department of Health.”
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Romero, meantime, is charged with repeatedly hitting a person with a developmental disability in public.
“Edwars D. Bonilla-Aguinada, an employee at Morningstar of Rio Rancho Assisted Living Facility, is accused of aggressively forcing an 89-year-old resident with Alzheimer’s to undergo a diaper change after an accident, disregarding her discomfort and condition.”
