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DCF Says Caregiver Charged With Abusing 18 Adults Had Good Reputation

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By Valerie Kalfrin and Karen Branch-Brioso, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 5, 2007

TAMPA - Linda Dill said she thought Daphne Jones was "sent from up above" when the state-licensed caregiver took her from a hospital to live at a palatial house along the Hillsborough River.

The 60-year-old woman said she soon learned the accommodations at Jones' adult family-care home came with an unexpected price: doing chores.

At 5608 Puritan Road – a house worth about $585,000 – Dill said she swept, mopped and dusted.

Later, after Jones moved Dill and other residents to a crowded boarding house in west Tampa, Dill said Jones assigned her to distribute medication to other tenants. She and another tenant also changed other tenants' diapers and helped them bathe and dress, Dill said.

"None of the rest of them had the ability to do it," said Dill, who had been hospitalized for depression. "I was supposed to take care of four or five people. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I just couldn't do it."

Tampa police charged Jones on Aug. 9 with 18 felony counts of aggravated "adult abuse negligence" after finding 18 tenants, several elderly and disabled, living in space allotted for six at 2347 W. Beach St. This building is a state-registered rooming house that also contains Jones' hair salon.

Police now say there were 19 tenants at the Beach Street address – one previously unaccounted for – who lived without air conditioning for at least two days before authorities relocated them to live with relatives or at another facility.

On Tuesday, Dill and other residents who were relocated to Bay Gardens Retirement Village in the university area talked about climbing up rickety bunk beds to sleep in windowless rooms. They also discussed chores. One man who had suffered a stroke was responsible for mowing the lawn at Puritan Road and taking out the garbage, they said.

Ruby Brewer, 87, who uses a walker, said Jones would have someone drive her from the boarding house to the Puritan Road mansion so Brewer could watch Jones' 12-year-old son, who suffers from cerebral palsy.

"During the daytime, I was there with him by myself," Brewer said.

Brewer said she and others also did laundry, helped cook and washed dishes at the Beach Street boarding house. "We all pitched in because there were 19 of us. … I don't mind work," Brewer said.

If she wasn't doing chores, she was bored, Brewer said. "Who wants to sit and watch television 12 hours a day?"

Free on bail, Jones has entered a written plea of not guilty to all charges. Reached on her phone this afternoon, Jones declined comment and before hanging up the phone said: "No, you have to speak to my attorneys."

Her attorney, Rick Escobar, was out of town today, his office said. In a previous interview, Escobar said conditions at the boarding house are not as bad as authorities have depicted.

"This is a boarding home in a poor community that caters to individuals that are either homeless or have nowhere else to go," Escobar said in a previous interview. "This is not a nursing home. This is not an adult living facility. … It is what it is. It is a not a Marriott."

Police this week said other charges are pending against Jones as their investigation continues.

Today, the Department of Children and Families said it had referred eight of these tenants to Jones' riverfront home on Puritan Road, unaware they would be moved to the boarding house. The state Agency for Health Care Administration had licensed Jones to provide housing, meals and personal care for up to five elderly or disabled people at the Puritan Road house.

DCF spokesman Andy Ritter said DCF found the Puritan Road facility through the AHCA Web site and used it for referrals because it was in good standing. Jones had a reputation for being responsive in late hours, he said.

"She had a reputation of being someone who was always available. If there was a need and she had availability, she was always responsive," Ritter said. "Just by word-of-mouth in the office, you find out who's a good contact. Daphne and her facility may have been one of the top facilities to call, knowing she was responsive at 1, 2, 3 in the morning."

Ritter said DCF placed some of the tenants with Jones, and others were placed by hospitals or other facilities. William Naiden, 52, who has a mental disorder, said he was moved to the boarding house in May after the facility where he lived in Davenport became overcrowded.

In Davenport, he had one roommate, Naiden said. At Jones' boarding house, he had four.

"It was dark. There were two bunk beds and a cot," Naiden said. "One day ran into another. Some days, I didn't know if it was day or night. There were no windows. … It was just like jail – actually, worse than jail. In jail, you have windows."

Brewer and Dill said authorities initially placed them at the Puritan Road mansion: Brewer after her house in Dover was found to be uninhabitable and Dill after being taken to Memorial Hospital. The rooms at Puritan Road had plenty of closet space, they said. House rules included taking shoes off in the garage to not scuff the floor and attending church weekly with Jones.

"She had us all sit together," Dill said. "It was like we were her little flock."

Five others lived with them, including Eugene Strickland, who had suffered a stroke and only answers yes-or-no questions, the women said. He mowed the lawn, they said.

"He worked out in the yard and everything," Brewer said. "He carried out garbage. … If she wanted it done, she'd call him."

Dill and Brewer thought they had moved to the Beach Street boarding house in late 2006 or early this year. They said Jones told them or their relatives that the Puritan Road mansion had plumbing problems or was undergoing renovations.

Brewer remembered staying at the rooming house intermittently in the past, when Jones "wanted to go somewhere" and "wouldn't leave us alone."

Naiden said the rooming house had four rooms for women and one for men. All shared a bathroom on the first floor. "There was always something wrong with the toilet," he said.

At first, the former tenants said they slept on single beds at the boarding house. "I had a cot they put out in the hallway," said Charles Spahr, 71, who lost his right eye to cancer. "They said that was against the law because of fire."

Soon, they slept on bunk beds. Spahr said he slept on a top bunk, which was difficult to climb. "My legs aren't so good," he said.

Dill said she also had a top bunk. "You had to really use a lot of strength to get up there," Dill said. "Mine was really rickety. It squeaked and everything."

All of those interviewed said they like Bay Gardens, where they each have one roommate, single beds and good food.

"This is much nicer than Daphne's. More space. It's much cooler," said Wilbert "Moe" Moten, 57, who suffered a stroke and walks with a brace on his left leg.

Naiden said he enjoys having coffee during the day at Bay Gardens and having the freedom to walk outdoors. Jones didn't like for them to go outdoors, he said. "I can go outside and have a smoke. I can take a shower any time I want. I can get up in the morning, come in here and get good food. Get respect from people," he said. "She needs to be taught you can't treat people like that."

Dill said she hadn't thought to complain because "I didn't think I had any choices." She sighed. "I guess I didn't realize it was so bad until I got someplace else."

Reporter Karen Branch-Brioso can be reached at (813) 259-7815. Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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