A nursing director at a New Jersey rehab center was indicted after assaulting an elderly man by hitting him with a broom.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced that Patricia Linda-Ahono was indicted by a state grand jury on July 23 on charges of second and third-degree aggravated assault, third-degree neglect of an elderly or disabled adult, third-degree tampering with witnesses, fourth-degree assault on an institutionalized elderly person and fourth-degree falsifying, per NJ.com.
The incident took place on June 24, 2023, between Lindo-Ahono, 59, and a resident at Crystal Lake Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, in Bayville, New Jersey, according to the office.
A nurse recorded a video of the physical altercation, which investigators said took place in a hallway on the fifth floor of the facility. In the video, Lindo-Ahono allegedly hit the victim with a broom. The hit injured the victim and left their hand dripping with blood.
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“Call (staff member) (inaudible) before I kill this man,” Lindo-Ahono was allegedly heard saying in the clip, according to NJ.com.
Lindo-Ahono completed an incident report following the altercation, claiming the incident took place on June 20, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. According to authorities, she also claimed that the victim tried to scratch her with the head of a blue disposable razor. Lindo-Ahono went on to allege that she used the broom to swat the object away from her.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said that the victim was not seen holding a razor or any weapon in the video. Meanwhile, staff members that witnessed the altercation said they never saw a weapon in the man’s hand.
In the incident report, Lindo-Ahono claimed that police and emergency services were called to the scene and that the victim was transported by ambulance to the hospital. However, current and former staff members stated that the director told them not to call the police.
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The Berkeley Township Police Department and the attorney general’s office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating the matter when the video was released to the public, and police officers visited the nursing home on December 21, 2024, to speak to an on-duty supervisor about the incident.
During the police visit, officials overheard Lindo-Ahono telling the on-duty supervisor, “You don’t remember anything, right?”
“Residents of adult care facilities need to be treated with respect and dignity, and be safe,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement, per NJ.com. “Physically assaulting a resident is inexcusable, and we will not stand by and allow such conduct to go undetected.”
