PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUNE 7, 2024

Home Healthcare Worker Found Guilty of 1^st Degree Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult, Resulting in Catastrophic Physical Injury

Frederick, MD – Today, in Frederick County Circuit Court, Emmanuel Olaeken Owoyeye, 49, was ordered to serve twelve months in the Frederick County Adult Detention Center with another nine years suspended. That sentence begins today. Owoyeye was found guilty of 1^st Degree Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult following a bench trial before the Honorable William R. Nicklas on May 28, 2024.

On August 4, 2023, a resident of an apartment complex in Frederick was walking his dog when he saw a man lying on the ground beneath an open third-story window.  Frederick County Sheriff’s Office deputies and EMS responded. It was determined that the 55-year-old victim was a vulnerable adult as a result of his diagnoses of Down Syndrome and dementia.  A deputy went to the victim’s apartment and notified the Defendant, the victim’s caregiver, that the victim was on the ground.  The Defendant admitted to the deputy that he had not checked on the victim for over three and a half hours. The victim was in his bedroom with the door closed, while the Defendant remained in the living room.  While the victim was unsupervised, he removed the screen from his bedroom window and jumped out, falling three stories.  Because the victim was known to try to get out of the apartment through the balcony or the front door, the Defendant was instructed by his supervisors that he was required to have the victim in line of sight when the victim was awake and to check on him periodically if he was sleeping.  The Defendant, who was paid to care for the victim, failed to supervise the victim as required.   The victim was transported by Trooper 3 to University of Maryland Shock Trauma in Baltimore.  As a result of the injuries sustained in the fall from the window, the victim is confined to a wheelchair and will not be able to live outside of a nursing home setting.

Upon release, the Defendant will serve 5 years of probation.   The first three years of probation are to be supervised, and the last two years are unsupervised.  All standard conditions apply. As a condition of his probation, the Defendant may not work with vulnerable adults or children.

The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorney, Erin Pearl, Special Victims Unit.

Press Contact:

Jacqueline Rottmann

Court Media Relations Officer

301-600-2972

100 West Patrick Street

Frederick, Maryland  21701