Deputies: Caregiver left 80-year-old covered in feces, urine and blood
DADE CITY >> A caregiver was arrested Tuesday after Pasco deputies said they found the 80-year-old man he was caring for lying on a mattress covered in feces, urine and blood from his own wounds.
The caregiver, Richard Meyers IV, 52, was arrested on a charge of neglect of an infirm, elderly or disabled adult. The arrest was made after a welfare check revealed the elderly man living in what deputies called “deplorable and dangerous conditions.”
A Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report details what deputes found when they visited the Dade City home about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. The report does not identify the victim, but deputies said they found him lying on a soiled mattress, unable to have a conversation with them.
For an unknown period of time, deputies said in the report, the victim was forced to throw his feces and urinate in his bed. He was also forced to share the bed with dogs that slept, urinated and defecated around him.
A total of three people, about a dozen dogs and birds were in the home, deputies said.
Deputies said Meyers admitted he was responsible for the conditions of the home, where the floors were covered several inches deep with trash and animal waste.
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His relationship with the man was not disclosed by deputies.
Meyers told deputies he refused to get the victim medical help because “he did not want anyone to see the deplorable conditions of his home,” the arrest report said.
Paramedics had to wear “additional protective equipment” to remove the 80-year-old man from the home, deputies said. He was taken to a local hospital. Doctors there found advanced stages of sepsis and stage four necrotic wounds due to neglect and lack of medical care, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The county’s building department condemned the home and animal services removed several dogs. Meyers was given four citations from Pasco County Code Enforcement totaling $1,469 in violations.
He was arrested and taken to the Land O’Lakes jail, where he was being held Wednesday in lieu of $5,000 bail.
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