5 Plead Not Guilty to Home-Safety Charges
Owners of a group home for the mentally ill in Ventura pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of housing residents in structures with faulty electrical wiring, poor plumbing and, in one case, a dangerously unstable foundation, authorities said.
Five people affiliated with Ventura Garden Manor Inc. have been charged with 14 misdemeanors in connection with a Feb. 24 inspection that revealed problems at the facility, said Assistant City Atty. Karl Berger.
The defendants are Dominador Nicolas, the company’s chief executive; his wife and company co-owner, Loretta Ordanel Nicolas; co-owners Oscar and Nerida Ancheta, and facility manager Ariel Aguilar.
Authorities said the owners have agreed to a renovation plan to correct the problems, many of which the owners say they inherited after buying the board-and-care facility early last year.
A trial is scheduled for May 15.
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