Care managers indicted
Two managers of a Chandler living facility were indicted in the death last year of a 69-year-old man who spent two days without air conditioning.
Two managers of a Chandler assisted living facility were indicted after the death last year of a 69-year-old resident who spent two days inside the homebased facility without air conditioning, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said Thursday.
Joseph Somera, 56, and Lolita Somera, 56, manage and operate Happy Homes Assisted Living Facility, at 2120 West Shannon Street in northwest Chandler, the office said in a press release.
The air conditioning at the facility failed on Aug. 16, 2018, affecting five residents, the statement said.
Lolita Somera called 911 on Aug. 18, 2018 to report the man was non-responsive. The Chandler Police Department responded and found that the temperature inside the home was 94 degrees, while the temperature in the man’s room was 100 degrees, the statement said.
Officials found that the air conditioning had not been working for 48 hours.
The man was pronounced dead. He had lived at the facility since May 2018.
The indictment alleges that Joseph and Lolita Somera recklessly endangered the man’s health under their care.
The Maricopa Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was end-stage renal disease complicated by acute pneumonia. The contributory cause of death was environmental heat exposure, the statement said.
Both defendants were charged with one count of vulnerable adult abuse, a class three felony.