Tennessee-Owned Nursing Home Employee Pleads Guilty to Abuse
Tyler Brock, 21 of Corbin, Kentucky, has pleaded guilty to the death last year of a resident of a group home operated by Community Ties of America, a Tennessee-based company.
Brock, a former employee of the group home, was indicted on June 12, 2012 on one count of murder after prosecutors stated that he had allegedly abused and “wantonly” caused the death of Shawn Akridge “by beating or kicking him.”
According to court documents, Akridge was “incapable of managing his own resources, carrying out daily living or protecting himself from neglect, exploitation or abuse because of his mental dysfunction”.
Originally, Brock tried to pin Akridge’s death on another resident in the home, Chester Watkins. He told a state police detective that he saw Watkins “choking Akridge on the bathroom floor” of the home. At that point, the state police took Watkins into custody on charges of murder.
However, it was later determined that Brock had lied when the autopsy showed that the cause of death was internal abdominal bleeding and not being strangled, prompting Brock to enter a plea of guilty of second-degree manslaughter and the charges against Watkins to be dropped.
The Tennessee owned home was located near Paint Lick. According to sources, Community Ties of America has closed its Kentucky group homes.
If convicted of the pending charges of second-degree manslaughter and knowingly abusing an adult, Brock will be facing prison time of five to ten years for each charge. Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Lockridge is asking for the maximum sentence of ten years on each count, to be served consecutively.
Since graduating magna cum laude in 2005 from the University of Memphis School of Law, Thomas has helped make a difference in the lives of victims of serious personal injury, wrongful death, and professional negligence. Thomas has extensive trial experience in both state and federal court. Among other victories in the courtroom, Thomas obtained several impressive jury verdicts and settlements
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