This week, charges were filed against eighteen staff members of a nursing facility in Virginia. They are accused of various offenses in connection to the care of a 74-year-old woman who sustained fatal injuries due to the treatment she received.
According to WRIC, five staff members were arrested on Wednesday . Shawanda Jeter, 46, has been charged with abuse and neglec of vulnerable adults and resisting or obstructing execution of legal process. Danielle Harris, 53, was charged with abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults. Three other women — Christine Gentry 33; Danyell Berberich, 48; and Katiema Booker, 32 — were charged with falsifying patient records.
Later on Thursday, Colonial Heights Police said they had arrested 11 more of the 18, leaving two outstanding.
Police said they were first called about a potential problem on October 5 when the 74-year-old woman was taken to a hospital for treatment. She ultimately died from her injuries on October 29. According to WTVR, her wounds were so severe they caused sepsis, which killed her.
Jeter was the administrator of Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center Administrator, and Harris was the nurse trainer for the facility. They appeared in court on Thursday, when prosecutor Noelle Nochisaki told the judge that the victim had cerebral palsy and diabetes and was left in her bed for days at a time, lying in urine and feces, before she was finally taken from the facility to a hospital.
When police executed a search warrant at the facility on November 4, Nochisaki said that Jeter tried to prevent officers from conducting the search, told them falsely she didn’t know how to get into computer systems, and tried to destroy evidence.
Harris, the prosecutor said, failed to provide adequate training to the staff, leading to the abuse the victim endured, although she allegedly signed off that such training took place.
Chesterfield Judge James O’Connell called the allegations against the two women “gut-wrenching, aggravating, and horrendous” but still gave them bonds of just $10,000. They were ordered to provide no medical care to the public or return to the nursing home until their cases are complete. Their next court date in March 26.
State officials said they were providing staffing to make sure that current patients at the facility were receiving adequate care. The Virginia Department of Health said it had investigated several complaints against the facility since 2023, including nine in August 2024, WRIC said..
