9 indicted in group home abuse probe

By KENNETH HART
The Independent

GRAYSON June 18, 2008 12:13 am

— Nine former employees of a Carter County group home for mentally handicapped adults have been indicted in connection with what authorities have termed “a dangerous pattern of abuse” at the facility.
A Carter County grand jury last week handed up felony indictments against the nine, all former workers at Community Presence Inc. of Grayson, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway’s office announced on Tuesday.
Each of the nine are charged with abuse of an adult by a caretaker, unlawful endangerment and first-degree wanton endangerment. Each of the defendants could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The nine all were arrested in February by Grayson police following an investigation launched in the wake of a resident’s death in October. However, the charges against the nine all stemmed from difference incidents.
The investigation, which also involved the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division, uncovered “a dangerous pattern of abuse endangering the lives of various residents at the facility,” the attorney general’s office said.
Named in the indictments were Earl Pelfrey, 29; Glada Miller, 28; Regina Stevens, 33; Todd Gribbin, 38; Ira Griffith, 27; Karl King, 45; Matthew Wilburn, 22; Michael Yates, 37; and Robert Thompson, 52.
Griffith is the son of former Community Presence owner Ted Griffith, said Allison Martin, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office. She said seven of the nine defendants were in custody and the two who weren’t, Yates and Thompson, were negotiating terms to turn themselves in.
All nine are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 4 before Carter Circuit Judge Rebecca Phillips.
Two other former CPI employees, Matthew Bortles and Brandon Starotska, have been charged with second-degree manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Michael Price, a 25-year-old man who died Oct. 14 while in CPI’s care.
The cause of Price’s death hasn’t been revealed. However, statements made to investigators by two CPI direct care staff members indicated that Price — who had lived in CPI homes for seven years — died while in a prone restraint, the use of which is prohibited by state law.
In December, the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services revoked CPI’s Medicaid certification because of staff members’ alleged use of illegal restraint techniques.
A grand jury indictment is a formal accusation of a crime and does not establish guilt.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.