While the Georgia Bureau of Investigation continues to sift through evidence seized July 2 at the Alzheimer’s Care of Commerce facility, all but two of the 21 suspects identified in the probe have been arrested.
However, Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said Tuesday that one suspect has indicated she will soon turn herself in.
The surprise raid occurred when GBI agents executed a search warrant at the facility in Commerce after agents said their investigation produced allegations of physical abuse on Alzheimer’s patients.
Most all of the 21 suspects identified in the probe are charged with cruelty to people 65 or older and neglect of a disabled person, authorities said. The facility housed 27 patients that social service organizations worked to place at alternative homes.
The facility owner, Donna Wright, 58, of Loganville, was charged additionally with financial exploitation of a disabled adult.
Wright’s lawyer, Moe Wilshire of Athens, released a statement that Wright, who owned the facility with her late husband for the past 18 years, was “shocked and saddened” by the criminal allegations.
“We fully intend to show that the allegations against Mrs. Wright are without a fair basis in fact and that she is innocent of any intentional wrongdoing,” Wilshire said. Wright’s husband, Robert, died in July 2008.
The charges against the suspects appear to be “an abuse case with no actual evidence of abuse,” Wilshire said.
“The investigation is not complete. This is one of those things where we went in with a search warrant and we’ve got to go through everything we collected,” GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said Tuesday.
“There may be additional charges after we go through all the evidence,” Lang said.
The investigation was launched after state officials received complaints from relatives of patients and other employees. There were reports of patients being inhumanely restrained, being hit by employees, and patients being cared for by people with prior felony convictions, according to previous reports.
The facility has been inspected over the years by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), which according to news reports included an inspection in 2011 that listed five violations, including hiring workers who were not subjected to criminal background checks.
“Because this is an open investigation, we cannot comment on this particular case. However, DCH has the authority to revoke a facility’s license,” DCH spokeswoman Pamela Keene said Tuesday.
“This is one of a number of adverse actions that the department has the authority to take,” she said, declining to say if the facility’s license will be revoked.
Personal care homes are inspected by DCH staff every 18 to 24 months or when a complaint is received, according to Keene.
• Follow Around Here editor/writer Wayne Ford on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WayneFordABH[1] .
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