Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Episania Fitzgerald was working her nursing shift at Pine Tree Manor assisted living facility in Largo, Fla., Friday night, but she had someplace better to be. Since she was the only staff member on duty that night, she called on a resident at the home to be in charge of the other residents in her absence. Fitzgerald then walked out the doors, leaving the 21 frail and elderly residents alone.

But when Fitzgerald returned 2 ½ hours later, the facility was overrun with firefighters and deputies, according to the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times.

While Fitzgerald was out of the building to handle what she later told police was a home health crisis, an 88-year-old woman fell on the bathroom floor. Unable to get up, she asked a fellow resident to call 911. When medical personnel from Pinellas Suncoast Fire Rescue arrived, they discovered there were no staff members on site and called the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office to investigate.

When Fitzgerald returned, she willingly told police she had left a resident in charge. Police then found Vicodin, a controlled substance, in her pocket. Fitzgerald, 60, was booked on one count of abuse and neglect of the elderly, a second-degree felony and one count of possession of a controlled substance, also a felony. Police say other charges may follow. Fitzgerald was jailed with a $12,000 bail.

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