TEXARKANA, Texas–A former caretaker pleaded not guilty Monday to the alleged assault of an 87-year-old dementia patient at Cornerstone Retirement Center.
Sharee Shantrell Bryant, 48, was allegedly caught on video on March 9 entering the woman’s room and slapping her across the face at Cornerstone Retirement Center on Moore’s Lane in Texarkana, Texas, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Bryant appeared Monday before 5th District Judge Bill Miller for arraignment on the charge. Texarkana lawyer John Delk entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf.
A camera placed in the woman’s room by her son allegedly recorded the assault. The son installed the hidden recording device after noticing bruises on her.
Texarkana Texas Police Department responded to a call from an administrator at the nursing facility about the alleged abuse March 25. 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.”
The alleged victim is unable to remember the incident because of her age-related condition.
Bryant faces two to 10 years in a Texas prison if convicted of injury to a disabled person in Bowie County. She is currently free on a $100,000 bond.
