Attorney General’s Office)
Two operators of an Arizona assisted living facility have been indicted on felony abuse charges after the facility’s air conditioning failed and a resident died, Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Thursday.
Joseph Somera and Lolita Somera each face a maximum of 8.75 years in prison after each being charged with one count of vulnerable adult abuse, a class three felony, the attorney general’s office told McKnight’s Senior Living.
The two operate and manage Happy Homes Assisted Living Facility in Chandler, AZ, where 69-year-old Jon Rader, along with other residents, spent two days in August 2018 without air conditioning, according to the 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 contributory 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.
