A Pinellas County professional guardian who was the subject of a recent I-Team investigation now faces criminal charges involving an incident at an assisted living facility.
The State Attorney's Office has filed court documents charging Fernando Gutierrez with misdemeanor counts of trespassing and battery.
Prosecutors allege Gutierrez entered the Patrick Manor ALF in St. Petersburg after he was banned from that facility and assaulted a staff member.
We reported earlier this year that Gutierrez is under investigation by the Florida Attorney General's office for allegedly exploiting senior citizens.
He was also banned from Morton Plant Mease Hospital after hospital officials say he signed orders for patient surgery without authorization.
Gutierrez denies the trespassing and battery allegations. saying he was checking on a longtime patient at the ALF when a staff member attacked him.
He plans to plead "not guilty" at his first appearance in January.
