POCATELLO — A 25-year-old Pocatello man was arrested on Friday after he allegedly abused a 78-year-old man with Alzheimer’s who is a resident of a local assisted living facility.
Geffrey Neil Parkin, 25, of Pocatello, has been charged with felony abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult following a Pocatello police investigation, according to police reports the Idaho State Journal obtained Monday.
The incident began to unfold around 7:20 p.m. Friday when the alleged victim’s daughter, who has power of attorney for him, contacted Pocatello police to report that her father had been abused while staying at Caring Hearts Assisted Living at 3480 E. Center St. in Pocatello, police said.
The Journal spoke to the owner of Caring Hearts Assisted Living, Quinton Rasmussen, who said Parkin’s employment was immediately terminated following the investigation. Rasmussen declined to comment further on the incident, citing the ongoing criminal case.
Police arrived at the assisted living facility and attempted to speak to the alleged victim who has severe Alzheimer’s disease, police said. The alleged victim was only able to respond after some coaxing from his daughter, who informed police the incident was captured on a security surveillance camera installed at the facility, police said.
Before reviewing the footage, police documented the alleged victim’s injuries, which included numerous bruises on his wrists, forearms and elbows, police said.
Rasmussen provided the police with video of the incident, and police spoke to a nurse who cared for the alleged victim the shift before Parkin and noted there were no bruises to the alleged victim at that time, police said. The nurse who cared for the alleged victim after Parkin’s shift reported the bruising to administrators, police said.
The video police reviewed was recorded around 8:30 p.m. Thursday and showed several instances in which the alleged victim attempted to get out of bed and leave his room and Parkin attempted to put him back to bed against the alleged victim’s wishes, police said.
About 15 minutes into the hour-long video, the alleged victim attempted to exit his room and Parkin stopped him and shoved him back into the room, police said. The alleged victim attempted to resist and Parkin said, “Stop or I’ll shove you,” followed by, “Do you want to get hurt?” before Parkin shoved the alleged victim again, nearly causing him to fall over, police said.
About 24 minutes into the video, Parkin forced the alleged victim back into bed again, which resulted in the alleged victim attempting to throw punches at Parkin, though he missed every time, police said. The video then shows Parkin telling the alleged victim, “You’re not going to hit me. I’m too fast,” police said.
In addition to grabbing and twisting the alleged victim’s arms, Parkin shoved the alleged victim, bent his fingers backward, knelt on his chest with his knees and antagonized him, police said.
The alleged victim can be seen walking back to his room from the bathroom at about the 29-minute mark and officers noted they observed bruising to his arm at this juncture, police said.
Parkin was interviewed by police on Friday, during which he said he only attempted to put the alleged victim back in bed twice, though the video showed five instances, police said.
Parkin also said that he was unaware how to properly handle the situation and reverted back to a previous job in which he cared for “large men in psychiatric wards,” on whom he was able to use restraints, police said. Parkin also said he was “over the line” in his care of the alleged victim.
Parkin was subsequently charged with felony abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult, arrested and booked into the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.
Parkin appeared in front of 6th District Judge David A. Hooste for an arraignment hearing on Monday, during which Parkin’s bond was set at $10,000.
Parkin is due back in court on Dec. 13 for a preliminary hearing in which prosecutors will attempt to prove there is enough evidence against him to elevate the case from the magistrate to district court level for trial.
If convicted of the felony abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult charge, Parkin faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.