A Starkville man will be arraigned this summer in the Mississippi First Circuit Court District this summer after he was arrested for allegedly striking a vulnerable patient in Tupelo.
Cleatonia “Tony” Burns, 34, was charged with one count of felony abuse stemming from an alleged incident that occurred while he worked as a direct care provider at Brandi’s Hope Community Services.
He was arrested in Starkville on a probable cause warrant signed by Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jim S. Pounds after an investigation was launched by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Burns is out of jail after posting $5,000 bond. He will be arraigned July 5, and the AG’s office will handle the case’s prosecution.
“There is no excuse to strike a patient, especially one who is intellectually and physically challenged,” said AG Jim Hood in a release. “Caregivers provide critically needed services for our vulnerable population, whether elderly, adolescent or disabled. Good caregivers are a lifeline for those they help and do all they can to make a patient comfortable. I appreciate the special services they provide, but I warn offenders that any infraction will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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