April 2, 2008
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Lee County Certified Nursing Assistant Arrested for Abusing Two Disabled Residents of Care Facility
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a certified nursing assistant has been arrested on charges that she abused two mentally disabled residents under her care. Nainawattie Deyorra, a former employee of a Lee County Intermediate Care Facility, was taken into custody by law enforcement with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. She is charged with two counts of abusing an elderly person or disabled adult.
Deyorra, 33, was employed as a caretaker by the Gulf Coast Center of Fort Myers and was entrusted with the care of residents at the facility. A witness told investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that Deyorra allegedly kicked two developmentally disabled residents for not complying with her directions. The witness also reported that Deyorra claimed she kept the residents under control by inspiring fear in them. The investigation was initiated by reports received from the Department of Children and Families through the agency’s adult abuse hotline.
Authorities booked Deyorra into the Lee County jail. She faces two third-degree counts of abusing an elder person or disabled adult. If convicted, she could receive up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit.