Friday, March 4, 2022

Workers accused of running ‘fighting ring’ at NC assisted living facility face prison

By Cassandre Coyer
 

Two women accused of running a fight club at an assisted living residence in North Carolina are headed to prison. Marilyn Latish McKey, 35, and Taneshia Deshawn Jordan, 28, both from Winston-Salem were convicted of inciting elderly residents to fight each other at Danby House in 2019. One of the fights included two residents with dementia that was recorded on video, McClatchy News previously reported.
 
According to court documents obtained by McClatchy, Jordan and McKey incited a resident to assault and strike another resident with a disability by “putting her hand around her throat, pushing and wrestling with her.” 
 
Documents show McKey also assaulted and struck the resident by pushing her into her room.

 McKey pleaded guilty to two counts of assault on an individual with a disability and Jordan pleaded guilty to one count of assault on an individual with a disability, Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court’s told McClatchy. 
 
On Feb. 28, McKey was given a suspended sentence of 45 days in prison, with 12 months of supervised probation, the court said. Jordan was given a suspended sentence of 30 days in prison, with 12 months of unsupervised probation. 
 
Both women were ordered to stay away from Danby House and must not contact any of the residents. They will also have to complete 50 hours of community service, the court said. 
 
According to a 2019 report from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, employees encouraged residents to fight each other while they recorded and shared videos on social media. 
 
One of the fights recorded led to “one resident being strangled with her face turning red,” the report says.
 
The report says staff members can be heard on video saying, “Punch her in the face.” They were heard talking, laughing and commenting as two residents were fighting. 
 
Another staff member was heard asking, “Are you recording?” “You gonna send it to send me?” 
 
The employees let the fight happen because one of the residents “always caused problems,” according to the report. 
 
Danby House was temporarily banned from admitting new residents in 2019 because of “numerous patient-care deficiencies,” The Winston-Salem Journal reported. The news outlet said employees were not trained properly and often failed to give residents medications prescribed by a doctor.
 
Full Article & Source:

No comments: