Second person charged with elder abuse, neglect over Grand Bay group home

Tilena Owens, left, has been charged with elder abuse and neglect, as has her husband Donny Owens.

By Lawrence Specker

A second person has been arrested in the case of a Mobile County group home where authorities say six veterans were found in “deplorable” conditions this week.

Meanwhile a Mobile County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said the MCSO was working with federal investigators on the case. Another sheriff’s department official said that the six residents remained hospitalized and that authorities were working to establish whether other properties owned by the home’s operators might also be used as group homes.

Jail records indicated that Tilena Kim Owens, 49, was booked into Mobile County Metro Jail shortly before noon on Thursday and remained there early Thursday afternoon. She was charged with one first-degree count of elder abuse and neglect and three second-degree counts.

She is the wife of Donny Boyd Owens, also 49, who was booked into the jail Wednesday morning. Jail records indicated that he also remained in jail Thursday afternoon. He faces one first-degree count of elder abuse and neglect and five second-degree counts.

An MCSO spokeswoman said investigators had determined that the Owens had received federal funding, though the exact amount had not been established.

Captain Paul Burch of the Mobile County Sheriff’s office said Thursday that he believed Donny Owens had been through a bond hearing at which bond was set at $20,000 for the first-degree charge and $10,000 for each of the second-degree charges. Jail records did not reflect that hearing as of early Thursday afternoon.

Burch said the sheriff’s office was aware of “several” other properties owned by the couple but had not yet established whether any of them were being operated as group homes.

As for the six men discovered in Grand Bay, Burch said they continued to receive treatment. “They are all still in the hospital and as far as we know their conditions are not life threatening,” he said.

Burch had said on Wednesday that the six residents of the home at 11050 Lakeview Lane Ext. in Grand Bay “had not seen any caretaker at the house for several days, up to a week.” Cabinets, pantries and the refrigerator were padlocked and the six residents required medical attention.

Details of their ages and medical needs have not been released.

Full Article & Source:
Second person charged with elder abuse, neglect over Grand Bay group home

See Also:
Man charged with multiple counts of elder abuse and neglect in Grand Bay