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September 14, 2009

Man accused of stealing seniors’ drugs to plead guilty

Mark Millican

A nursing home manager accused of stealing drugs from residents has changed his mind about going to trial and will plead guilty to the charges on Sept. 29, officials said.

Wayne Hardwick Dawn Jr., 37, of the Pleasant Valley Assisted Living Center on Reed Road, pleaded not guilty in Whitfield County Superior Court in August to elder abuse charges and multiple counts of drug possession. He was set to go to trial on Monday. But by calendar call on Tuesday of last week, Dawn had changed his mind, said District Attorney Kermit McManus.

“His attorney (Todd Ray) indicated he was entering a guilty plea,” McManus said.

Dawn was arrested in October of 2008 by narcotics investigators with the sheriff's office and charged with six felony counts of cruelty to a person 65 or older; six misdemeanor counts of theft by taking; six misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct; three counts of felony possession of hydrocodone; one felony count of possession of darvocet; and two felony counts of possession of tramodol. He is alleged to have taken the narcotic drugs and replaced them with other drugs.

Ray said it is “normal procedure” to plead not guilty for a client initially so that more information can be obtained from the district attorney’s office.

“We never intended on going to trial on this matter,” he said, “and we’re trying to rectify the situation as best we can.”

Ray said there seems to be “overwhelming support” for Dawn, and mentioned people involved in the investigation, his family members who were living at Pleasant Valley, Dawn’s “treatment counselors” and even caretakers of the nursing home residents who held power of attorney for them.

A concerned family member of a Pleasant Valley resident contacted the sheriff’s office last year and audio and video surveillance was begun by investigators. Sheriff Scott Chitwood said the investigation revealed Dawn may have been stealing the nursing home residents’ drugs for about a year.

“Our investigation revealed (Dawn) had a substance abuse problem and had been stealing certain medications from the elderly residents to satisfy his own drug problem,” Chitwood said.

None of the residents was reported to have become ill because of the replacement medications.



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