An operator of an Arizona assisted living facility has been sentenced to an additional 90 days in jail and three years of probation after pleading guilty to vulnerable adult abuse, a felony, for her role in the death of a resident who spent two days inside the home without air conditioning.
Lolita Somera, a manager and operator of Happy Homes Assisted Living Facility in Chandler, AZ, was sentenced Nov. 7, according to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Joseph Somera, another manager and operator of the facility, has pleaded guilty to the same charge and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5.
The Someras were indicted in August.
Jon Rader, 69, and other residents, spent two days in August 2018 without air conditioning, according to the attorney general’s office. The Maricopa Medical Examiner’s Office reportedly determined that the man subsequently died of end-stage renal disease complicated by acute pneumonia, with environmental heat exposure as a contributing cause of death.
Police began an investigation after Lolita Somera called 911 to report that the resident was unresponsive, the attorney general’s office said. Authorities reportedly documented that the temperature inside the home was 94 degrees and that the temperature in the resident’s room was 100 degrees.
Lolita Somera’s release date is Feb. 5, after which time she will be turned over to Immigration and Naturalization Service because she is in the country illegally, Brnovich said.
