NEW BOSTON, Texas–A former caretaker accused of physically abusing an 87–year-old dementia patient at Cornerstone Retirement Center is facing a jury this week in Bowie County.
Sharee Shantrell Bryant, 49, was allegedly caught on video March 9, 2022, entering the elderly patient’s room and slapping her across the face at the nursing home on Moores Lane in Texarkana, Texas, according to a probable cause affidavit. The woman’s son reportedly placed a hidden camera near her bed after noticing bruises on her that staff couldn’t explain.
The Texarkana Texas Police Department responded to a call from an administrator at the nursing facility about the alleged abuse March 25, 2022. An officer viewed the video with the elderly woman’s son and turned the case over to a detective.
The investigator noted in the affidavit that the woman was struck with enough force “to cause her torso to lean back and that she reached up and placed her hand on her face afterwards as if she was in pain.”
Bryant was arrested that day on a charge of injury to an elderly or disabled person. A second count was added earlier this month. Bryant is currently free on bonds totaling $200,000, court records show.
If found guilty, Bryant faces two to ten years in prison on each count. Her lawyer, John Delk of Texarkana, has filed notice that he intends to ask the jury to sentence Bryant to probation if she is convicted.
Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter is representing the state. Fifth District Judge Bill Miller is presiding over the trial at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston. A verdict is expected this week.
