Morgan Co. man arrested for severe elder abuse and domestic violence

John Jacob Holland was arrested on abuse charges after an elderly man sustained severe injuries last month.  

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Morgan Co. man arrested for severe elder abuse and domestic violence 

Man arrested for elder abuse on Madison's east side

by Samantha Calderon 

MADISON, Wis. -- Madison police were dispatched on the city's east side Monday afternoon for a disturbance involving an elderly woman.

Police learned that the caller, an elderly woman residing on the 3200 block of Dairy Drive, reported that another male resident became violent when asked to leave the room.

According to police, the man allegedly threw a chair at her and proceeded to kick her in the face.

The man was arrested for physical abuse of an elder, battery, disorderly conduct, and a probation hold.

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Man arrested for elder abuse on Madison's east side 

Wichita man arrested for elder abuse at care facility

SEDGWICK, Kan. (KAKE) - A 37-year-old Wichita man has been arrested for abusing an elderly woman at a convalescent care facility.

Sedgwick Police say Said Mblima was charged in connection to an incident that occurred in November 2024. Mblima was charged with one count of mistreatment of a dependent adult while a resident of a care facility, a level two felony.

Mblima could face a prison sentence anywhere from 9 to41 years, and a $300,000 fine.

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Wichita man arrested for elder abuse at care facility 

Woman Arrested for Elder Abuse after Two Family Members Hospitalized

by Leslie Williams, Nevada County Sheriff's Office (NCSO)

Penn Valley, CA – On Sunday, May 11, 2025, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Deputies arrested Tiffany Wright, age 43 of Penn Valley, for two counts of elder abuse and battery with serious injury following an investigation into her alleged assault of senior-age family members at a Sun Forest Drive home.

75-year-old woman and 87-year-old man were transported to a local hospital for treatment of injuries described by deputies as “substantial” after contacting the victims at their residence, which is shared with Wright, in response to a 9-1-1 call reporting a disturbance just before 8:00 pm. The victims advised that Wright had arrived at the home shortly before engaging them in a physical altercation that left them with numerous lacerations and contusions. Wright remained on scene and was contacted outside the home by CHP officers that had arrived with NCSO to assist. Wright initially gave deputies a false name and date of birth, before being correctly identified and subsequently arrested on assault charges.

Victims have since been released from the hospital following treatment.

Wright was transported to the hospital for treatment of a laceration before being booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility with an enhanced bail of $250,000.

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Woman Arrested for Elder Abuse after Two Family Members Hospitalized

Carson City deputies make arrest for elder abuse, suspect also in possession of grandmother’s debit card

by Jeff Munson

A 47-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday for suspicion of abuse of an older/vulnerable person, possession of a debit/credit card without consent and other alleged offenses, according to a Carson City Sheriff’s Office booking report.

Stephany Sharee Alexander was taken into custody at 5:34 p.m. following an investigation. She was also booked for suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to the report, deputies were called to a Bel Air Court residence for a unwanted subject. Dispatch advised the reporting party called to report her granddaughter, Stephany Alexander, was at the location and yelling and screaming at her and appeared to be under the influence of something. A deputy responded to the location and made contact with the granddaughter inside the front room of the home.

The deputy attempted to gather information about what was going on but the granddaughter stated she wanted to be left alone. The deputy instructed her to wait in her room while the deputy spoke with the grandmother, who is wheelchair bound and elderly.

The deputy asked the victim what happened. She said she allowed her granddaughter to stay in her home for approximately a month. Over the past week or so she had been going through all of her personal items and bedroom. She said Alexander has been screaming at her and causing her to fear for her safety if left alone with her, the report states.

She said she is 88 years old the her granddaughter will yell and scream at her causing her heart to beat hard and fast. She stated she believe the woman would hurt her and obtained paperwork from the Carson City Justice Court for a protection order to have her granddaughter evicted. She stated that Alexander had broken into her bedroom and stole her red card and other money, according to the report.

A deputy spoke with a person who is a friend of the victim and has helped her for the past 30 years. He stated he arrived to put locks on some of the interior doors for the elderly woman and witnessed the woman yelling and screaming at the elderly grandmother. He recorded the outbursts with his phone and played one of the videos, at which time the deputy was able to hear the woman yelling and cussing at the grandmother.

The arresting officer collaborated with another deputy investigating, who was also on scene and determined Alexander was verbally and psychologically abusing her grandmother causing fear for her health and safety, the report states.

Alexander was placed in custody for suspected elder abuse. A deputy asked if she wanted some of her property to go with her to Carson City Jail. She said she wanted her purse. She was escorted to her room where the purse was located.

A deputy searched the purse prior to bringing it into jail. Inside the purse the deputy located a red bag with flowers on it and inside the bag located a long orange cylindrical glass tube with a bulbous end and a significant amount of white powdery substance still inside, the report states.

The object is a methamphetamine pipe commonly used to burn and inhale methamphetamine and other illicit narcotics. The deputy also located several small baggies with white crystalline residue inside, a small blue and green plastic container with a small mirror and four tooter straws, a small baggy with three spherical balls that were located inside the red bag.

The woman was taken to jail without incident. A deputy searched through her wallet to ensure no other illicit items were inside. The deputy located the grandmother’s driver’s license and Wells Fargo debit card in the suspect’s wallet. Deputies returned the items to the grandmother, the report states.

Alexander was booked for possession of a debit/credit card without consent, and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies. She was also booked for gross misdemeanor abuse of an older/vulnerable person and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail: $5,000.

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Carson City deputies make arrest for elder abuse, suspect also in possession of grandmother’s debit card

Adelanto man arrested for elder abuse after punching 75-year-old father

by Victor Valley News Group

ADELANTO, Calif. (VVNG.com) — Alexander Torres, a 37-year-old resident of Adelanto, was arrested for elder abuse and resisting an officer, officials said.

On Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at 11:07 a.m., deputies responded to the report of elder abuse in the 18400 block of Thomas Ct.

According to witnesses, Alexander Torres punched his 75-year-old father and then fled the residence. Deputy J. Delano located Torres near Chamberlain Street and Stevens Street. Torres resisted arrest and fought with deputies. After a short foot pursuit, Torres was taken into custody.  

Alexander Torres was arrested for elder abuse and resisting an executive officer. He is currently being held at High Desert Detention Center in lieu of $40,000.00 bail. 

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Deputy J. Delano, at Victor Valley Sheriff’s Station, 760-552-6800. Callers can remain anonymous and contact We-Tip at 800-78CRIME or www.wetip.com.

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Adelanto man arrested for elder abuse after punching 75-year-old father

Two arrested for elder abuse in Hawkins

Two Rogersville residents were charged Saturday with elder abuse in connection with caring for an adult in less than humane conditions.

Banner Gale Skeen, 56, and Rebecca Jean Armstrong, 46, both of Stanley Valley Road, were jailed when an 80-year-old woman both were caring for was found at the residence.

In a report filed by Deputy Dustin Winter, of the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, he was performing a welfare check on the 80-year-old woman at the residence when Winter interviewed Armstrong and Banner Skeen. During the interview, Armstrong stated that she takes care of the woman. Winter observed that the trailer was in a dilapidated state with the windows being broken and bashed out. As Winter entered the mobile home, there was a smell of feces and rotting food. Ebbie Skeen, 80, was sitting on a couch barefoot beside a portable bed chair. Skeen could not walk very well and could not take care of herself.

There were a large amount of flies everywhere in the house and were buzzing around the woman. The mobile home had large holes in the floor that led straight to the dirt below. There were dog feces everywhere in the trailer, and completely covered the floor in some sections.

The kitchen was piled with dishes covered in rotting food and a thick layer of black mold on almost all of the surfaces of the kitchen and all over the ceiling.

A refrigerator appeared not to be working and contained nothing but rotten food, according to the report. Winter walked to the bathroom and observed that the bathtub was full of trash and the toilet was overflowing with human feces.

Ebbie Skeen’s bedroom was located next to the bathroom and contained nothing but a mattress and a blanket in the floor with dog feces all over it.

When interviewed, Ebbie Skeen stated that when her bed pan gets full, both persons dumped it in the yard beside the house.

Winter went to the outside of the residence and observed a broken pipe leading into the yard that had sewage coming out of it.

There were also no washer or dryer available. Both persons were taken to the Hawkins County Jail while Ebbie Skeen was taken to a safe and clean location.

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Two arrested for elder abuse in Hawkins

Disbarred Lawyer Jailed on Theft, Elder Abuse Charges

Richard Vinson Merritt

Former Smyrna attorney Richard V. Merritt, who was disbarred Monday after admitting to settling a client’s suit for $75,000 and then pocketing the money, woke up in the Cobb County Jail Thursday after being arrested on separate felony elder abuse, theft, exploitation and check fraud charges.

The spokesperson for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office said he had no further information on the charges, which were apparently filed by the Smyrna Police Department. The booking report includes a notation that Merritt is to be held for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, where a press liaison said they received a bench warrant for “indirect criminal attempt.” 

He provided no further information, and there was no immediate response from Smyrna police.

On Friday, Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said there was little he could offer concerning Merritt’s case so far.

“We have yet to receive the complete investigative file from the Cobb Sheriff’s Department,” said Reynolds via email. “When we do, our White Collar Unit will begin the process of determining what charges we will proceed to the grand jury with. In addition, our Investigators will begin reviewing the file upon receipt to see if there are any additional victims or charges which need to be pursued.”
Merritt remained in jail on Friday afternoon.

Merritt is the subject of multiple civil suits in Cobb County, including one filed by a woman who claims he forged her name on a $150,000 settlement agreement and check without her knowledge. She claims Merritt never turned over any funds.

He also faces several legal malpractice and fraud lawsuits in Cobb County from clients claiming he agreed to handle their cases and then never filed them and never pursued any actions.

Merritt has represented himself in each of the lawsuits.

The attorney for a plaintiff in one case, Sapp & Moriarty partner Daniel Moriarty—interviewed before word of Merritt’s arrest was known—said he was surprised at the mild tone in the state Supreme Court’s disbarment opinion, which only said Merritt “settled a client’s personal injury matter for $75,000 but failed to promptly disburse those funds to his client or her medical providers and failed to render a full accounting of the funds to his client.”

“That’s a euphemism for stealing money,” said Moriarty. “I talked to an investigator who has seen his bank records and determined that he had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars. It just blows my mind what he’s gotten away with.”

According the bar complaint reviewed by the Daily Report, Merritt was retained to handle a personal injury matter in December 2016 and settled it last February, cashing the forged check Feb.7. On Feb. 10, he filed a lawsuit “and continued to lead me on until late May 2017 when I learned what he had done,” the confidential complaint said.

“I have never seen a dime of the $75,000,” said Merritt’s former client. 

Another civil suit filed in Cobb County State Court last year said Merritt forged a husband and wife’s signature on a settlement and check in a medical malpractice case and never told them.

Another complaint said Merritt accepted a med-mal case and continually told his client that he was investigating it. Merritt sent emails saying “All is well and we are moving forward on your case,” and “No worries I’m on it!” 

Then he stopped accepting the woman’s calls, and the filing deadline passed. 

In that case, Judge Maria Golick struck Merritt’s answers and ordered a damages-only trial after finding he “willfully failed to respond” to hearing notices. Golick scheduled a show-cause criminal contempt hearing, and the decision is apparently still under advisement, according to court records.

In the case Moriarty is handling, Merritt also allegedly claimed to be conducting discovery and searching for experts, even scheduling bogus depositions for his clients, only to cancel them at the last minute. 

Merritt was the principal for the Smyrna-based Merritt Firm, whose offices were the subject of several dispossessory actions between 2015 and 2017, according to court records.

Last August, Merritt sued two attorneys on behalf of spine surgeon and frequent medical expert James Chappuis. At the time, Merritt said he vice president and general counsel of Chappuis’ Orthopaedic & Spine Surgery of Atlanta. 

That case settled confidentially shortly after it was filed.

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Disbarred Lawyer Jailed on Theft, Elder Abuse Charges