ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two nursing home employees were arrested on March 14 for allegedly battering residents at an assisted living facility in St. Petersburg.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) said that deputies started investigating after receiving a report about the battery of two residents at Inspired Living at Ivy Ridge Assisted Living Facility on 40th Avenue North.
Deputies said the facility's executive director reported the incident, which occurred on March 12 and was discovered after watching a surveillance video. They also stated that staff originally reported it as resident-on-resident battery, but the director was suspicious of their claims.
During the investigation, deputies claimed they found the employees, Rosa Edwards, 23, and Aneisha Hall, 19, had initiated an altercation with one of the male residents. The resident was pushing a female resident in her wheelchair down the hall when Edwards began to whip the man with a lanyard and laugh, which led to a physical altercation.
Edwards and Hall then allegedly grabbed the man and took him to the ground while he was still holding the wheelchair, causing it to fall sideways with the woman inside it. The two then ran away and out of view of the surveillance camera, leaving both residents on the ground.
Deputies said that while Hall and Edwards reported the incident to their coworker, they claimed it was the male resident who had battered the female resident and that they were uninvolved. When Edwards was interviewed, she allegedly admitted to using excessive force and that they should have handled it differently.
Hall and Edwards were charged with two counts of battery on a person 65 years of age or older and their employment was immediately suspended while pending termination.
