CHP Alleges Elder Abuse at Veterans Home

California Highway Patrol investigators have urged prosecutors to file elder abuse charges against two employees and the acting administrator of the state veterans home in Barstow after they allegedly broke the finger of a disabled resident when they took a lighted cigarette from him, officials said Tuesday.

The recommendation for criminal charges is only the latest incident in a long list of troubles that have plagued the high desert facility virtually since it was opened as a state-of-the-art residence and nursing home in 1996.

Earlier this month, it was fined a record $95,000 in the death of a World War II infantryman who was given conflicting medications by two staff physicians. In 2000, the home was fined the then-maximum of $64,499 in the deaths of a veteran who choked on a spear of broccoli at lunch and another whose worsening diabetes was not properly monitored.

On Tuesday, the CHP -- which investigates crimes on state property -- said veteran Thomas Joyner, 52, had rolled his wheelchair into a restricted smoking area known as the “olive garden” on Dec. 3 and lighted a cigarette. In doing so, he violated a new policy that restricts smoking to certain hours and conditions, a CHP spokesman said.

Joyner told investigators the three women employees came from behind, held him down, forcibly took the cigarette away and searched his pockets for more. The fourth finger on his right hand was broken during the incident, he said.

“Help. You are hurting me. Please don’t take my cigarettes,” Joyner recalled declaring at the time, investigators said. He said he had not been aware of the new smoking rules.

“The question is, was excessive force used to remove the cigarette?” said CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick. He said Joyner suffers from severe health problems, including partial paralysis of his left side, impaired speech and limited vision and hearing. He requires assistance to eat, bathe and take medication.

The CHP said Rocio M. Rubio-Busby, who was appointed in January as the acting administrator at the home, was the author of the revised restrictions on smoking. She indicated to investigators that unrestricted smoking was an “endangerment” not only to Joyner but to others, especially if oxygen was in use nearby.

The CHP recommended late Monday that elder abuse charges be filed against Rubio-Busby and the two employees, Lorraine Jones and Roxane Miller. San Bernardino County Deputy Dist. Atty. Reid Robsahm said Tuesday that he will decide soon whether to file charges.

When prosecuted as a misdemeanor, a conviction of elder abuse is punishable by six months to a year in jail. As a felony, conviction can result in a sentence of two, three or four years in state prison.

Andy Kotch, a spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said officials were unaware of the report’s contents and would have no comment until a decision is made on charges.

Rubio-Busby, of Buena Park, formerly a licensed administrator of private nursing homes, was appointed acting administrator of the state-run Barstow home last month as part of an overhaul of what new Veterans Affairs Secretary Maurice K. Johannessen called the “ailing” Division of Veterans Homes. He promised a thorough shakeup that would restore the department to a first-class service organization for California veterans.