Whitfield County man charged with cruelty to elderly

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October 2, 2008

Officials say assisted living manager stole meds, replaced them with aspirin

Kim Sloan The Dalton Daily Citizen Thu Oct 02, 2008, 07:32 PM EDT

The manager of a Whitfield County assisted living home on Reed Road is accused by law enforcement officials of stealing the residents’ medications and replacing them with over the counter medications such as aspirin.

Wayne Hardwick Dawn Jr., 37, was arrested Thursday afternoon by narcotics investigators with the Whitfield County 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. Dawn was being held in the Whitfield County Jail Thursday evening on a $50,000 bond.

A concerned family member contacted the sheriff’s office on Sept. 12, said Maj. John Gibson with the sheriff’s office. An undercover investigation by deputies included audio and video surveillance before Pleasant Valley Assisted Living Home at 510 Reed Road was searched late Thursday afternoon, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

"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," said Sheriff Scott Chitwood. “We believe this had been happening for about a year.”

None of the residents became ill, Gibson said. The facility is owned by Dawn’s wife but Dawn is the manager, he said.

The facility will remain open, said Edna Jackson, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the state agency that regulates assisted living facilities.

“This is a 24-bed facility with 19 residents,” Jackson said. “Very few residents were aware that anything was going on. There is sufficient staff there to care for the residents and the residents are in no danger.”

Several people at the facility Thursday afternoon said they had not heard of any wrongdoing.

“My mother is here,” said a woman who did not want to be identified. “I had no idea,” she said. “I would never have thought it — I would never have dreamed it.”

An employee said she “never noticed anything suspicious. Sometimes I’ve handed out the meds at night and never would have dreamed anything was wrong.”

A volunteer who said she comes in once every three or four weeks to help meet residents’ needs said she “doesn’t know anything. He’s always been very nice, and I haven’t noticed anything weird in the last couple of months.”

She said she had been coming to the home and helping out for two months.

Staff writer Mark Millican contributed to this story.