Two North Carolina women who incited a fight between patients with dementia at an assisted living facility escaped jail time with suspended sentences, contingent on them completing probation.
In October of 2019, police arrested Marilyn Latish McKey, 35, and Taneshia Deshawn Jordan, 28, following an investigation into reports of elder abuse at the Danby House assisted living facility in Winston-Salem, Breitbart News reported at the time. Tonacia Yvonne Tyson, 23, was also arrested but was acquitted on one count of aiding and abetting an assault of an individual with a disability in August of 2021, the Winston-Salem Journal notes.
The women all worked in the Danby House memory care section, which is home to residents with varying forms of dementia, the outlet reports.
The investigation determined the women “allowed and encouraged residents to fight each other,” Breitbart News wrote.
“On June 19, 2019, one of the female residents put her arm around the neck of another resident. The face of the resident who was being strangled was turning red and she called for help,” the Winston-Salem Journal reports.
Forsyth County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Spencer told the outlet that neither Jordan nor McKey stopped the altercation and noted Jordan told investigators she prodded one of the women to strike the other in the face. Jordan videotaped the incident and shared the video with Mckey and Tyson, Spencer said.
The outlet reports:
Jordan told investigators that she and McKey allowed the fight to continue because they had some behavioral issues with one of the residents and wanted to get some justice, Spencer said.
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McKey also admitted, Spencer said, to pushing one of the residents into her room, cutting the light off and slamming the door. She said no one checked on that resident after the incident.
“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,” McClatchy News reports.
McKey received a 45 day suspended sentence and 12 months of supervised probation on February 28, while Jordan was given a 30 day suspended sentence with 12 months of unsupervised probation.
Spencer told the Winston-Salem Journal that the sentences were not part of a plea deal.
One of the patients, Betty Elaine Moore, filed a lawsuit against the Danby House in Forsyth Superior Court in October of 2020, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. A settlement was reached at the end of 2021, though details have not been disclosed.
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