The Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Division of the New Mexico Department of Justice charged four persons with mistreating patients in assisted living facilities.
Edwars D. Bonilla-Aguinada, Linda Romero, Lee Carrizales, and Salomon Sanchez are all accused of abuse of a resident; if proven guilty, each could face up to six months in prison.
“Salomon Sanchez, an employee at Community Options, Inc., a Developmental Disabilities Waiver group home in Santa Fe, was captured on video forcibly grabbing a resident, shoving the victim’s face toward a table, and refusing assistance while making degrading comments,” a New Mexico DOJ spokesperson stated on Tuesday.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that the arrests of Sanchez and other defendants send a “clear message” that the state will not tolerate mistreatment of vulnerable individuals.
“Lee Carrizales, an employee at Pacifica Senior Living Facility, is charged with two counts of Abuse of a Resident for verbally assaulting two facility members,” the DOJ spokesperson stated. “Videos of this abuse were posted on Facebook and alerted to our office by the New Mexico Department of Health.”
Meanwhile, Romero faces charges of repeatedly assaulting a person with a developmental handicap in public.
“Edwars D. Bonilla-Aguinada, an employee at Morningstar of Rio Rancho Assisted Living Facility, is accused of aggressively forcing an 89-year-old resident with Alzheimer’s to undergo a diaper change after an accident, disregarding her discomfort and condition.”