George Stahl and Cathy Perfect
Kern Valley Sun

Appearing today in Superior Court for sentencing, Joseph McCoy, shocked the entire courtroom with a bolt out of the blue by informing Judge Micheal Lewis he was withdrawing his plea of no contest to one count of elder abuse and his admission of causing harm or death to an elderly person.

Lewis quickly asked McCoy's attorney, Public Defender Janice Kim, if she was aware of her client's intention to withdraw his plea. Looking dumbfounded, Kim replied, “No, your honor.”

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Lewis turned to the prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Michele Domino, and asked if she had any opposition to the request. Domino said, “Yes.” It was duly noted in the record that Domino was unaware of and in opposition to McCoy's last minute revelation.

Lewis set a continuance date of Feb. 16 for sentencing. Kim, after a brief conference with her client, said she would draft a formal motion to withdraw his plea. At that time, DDA Domino objected to the Feb. 16 date, stating it conflicted with an ongoing murder trial in which she is involved. Lewis extended the sentencing date to March 2.

Darlene Green, McCoy's co-defendant mother, in court for her plea deal sentencing as well, was represented by John Tello of Bakersfield. Tello objected to the March 2 date, noting that if sentencing had taken place today as scheduled, his client would have been released from custody – on the basis of time served – this afternoon. Tello asked that Green be released on her own recognizance until March 2.

Lewis told Tello that because of Green's “exposure to the charges and allegations,” if a new plea deal is reached she could be in custody for a longer time than originally agreed upon and denied Tello's request for OR.

Green turned to her son and said, “I hate you.”

McCoy and Green's plea arrangement was a “package deal,” each defendant's plea of no contest was contingent upon the other's. Neither Kim nor Domino would comment on today's proceedings. Tello said his client was “extremely disappointed” as she was anticipating being released today.

In exchange for the original plea, the defendants waived their rights to a jury trial. McCoy, 30, of Lake Isabella, faced a maximum of five years in prison for his plea to one count of elder abuse and his admission of causing harm or death to an elderly person, which renders the count a strike offense.

Green, 54, of Weldon, faced a maximum of one year in local custody and felony probation for her plea to one count of elder abuse as a co-defendant in the case. The charge of causing harm or death to an elderly person against Green was dismissed.

For now, all bets are off.

Background

In January, McCoy and Green entered no contest pleas in the case of elder abuse leading to the death of 90-year-old Margaret Gray on April 1. McCoy had been Gray’s IHSS primary caregiver since he turned 18 in 1999.

As part of his plea agreement, McCoy was to be sentenced on the charge of spousal abuse against his ex-girlfriend, Doreena McCartney, of Lake Isabella, the mother of his child.

Earlier last year, on April 22, McCoy pled no contest to the spousal abuse charge. Sentencing was postponed until the outcome of the present case.

At a preliminary hearing in Bakersfield on July 20, Green was visibly shaken – by her arrest and having to appear in court that day.

In the proceedings that lasted the better part of the day, the gruesome details of the condition that Gray was found in were brought to light.

Sitting next to his attorney, McCoy listened to the parade of witnesses retell what they observed at his grandmother’s house in Lake Isabella, and his eyes welled with tears.

As the testimony intensified and became more detailed, the accused pair became increasingly emotional. As the testimony of the professionals and expert witnesses progressed, Green grew more and more uncontrollable in the court room.

On more than one occasion, Green yelled out and her attorney turned to her and sternly quieted her down.

Nathaniel St. Clair, CARE Ambulance paramedic, testified that when he entered Gray’s bedroom on Feb. 11, he was “knocked back” by the smell of feces combined with decaying flesh. He said that he found Gray in the bed, her skin stuck to the sheets and even interwoven with the fabric of her clothes. There were numerous bed sores and ulcers on her body. St. Clair stated that the flies were so thick in the room that he had to “bat them away as he was trying to assist Miss Gray.”

On that afternoon, Kern Valley Hospital’s then-Emergency room Director, Dr. Manuel Sacapano, testified, “In 11 years, this is the worst case of elder abuse I have ever seen.” He testified the ulcer on Gray’s back was a Grade 4, which meant that it has to take some time to rot the skin through, down to her spine.

According to Sacapano, upon Gray’s arrival at the hospital, she was treated for her condition the best way possible and made ready for her transfer to San Joaquin Community in Bakersfield. “She was going to need an entire team of doctors to help her,” Sacapano said. “Her overall condition was very, very poor.” In addition to the bed sores and ulcers, Gray was suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, Sacapano said.

After further treatment at San Joaquin, Gray was placed in the care of Dr. Anthony Milanes of the Bakersfield Family Medical Center. Milanes is the overseer at the elderly care unit of the facility known as Lifehouse. Milanes said that Gray arrived at Lifehouse towards the end of February, where she was treated with antibiotics for the ulcers and sepsis that had developed throughout her body. She was there until her death on April 1, 2011. Milanes testified that the sepsis, a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria and is commonly known as blood poisoning, was caused by the formation of the ulcers and had happened over time. Milanes said that these were a result of Gray’s deteriorating condition.

According to the testimony given by Senior Sheriff’s Deputy, Marco Vazquez, when he arrived at the house on Reeder St. he was met by Gray’s daughter, Barbara Mendez of Baldwin Park. Mendez told Vazquez that she was there to visit her mother for Gray’s 90th birthday. When she arrived, Wendy Reyes, the women Mendez had hired to come over and get Gray ready to celebrate her birthday, told her that things were not right with Gray. Mendez was disturbed by what she saw and called 911. Vazquez arrived at the house at 9:46 p.m. to investigate a report of elder abuse. According to the Deputy, when he came to the house, CARE Ambulance and the fire department were already on scene. Vazquez testified that Melody Batelaan from Aging and Adult Services was also present. According to Vazquez. Mendez told him that she had last seen her mother on Dec. 23, 2010 and that at that time she didn’t see anything odd or out of the ordinary.

Green had been at the home for the past three days at which time, McCoy had been arrested for the assault on Doreen McCartney. Green’s attorney, Tello, argued to the court that Green was not the primary care giver for Gray, and that she went to the house on a daily basis only after McCoy was arrested on Feb. 8 and did not have intimate contact with her mother during that time. According to Green, Gray would not allow her to care for her while she was at the house. Tello urged the Court to consider that the testimony elicited from the prosecution’s expert witnesses established that Gray’s deteriorated condition did not happen during the three days that Green was caring for her; rather it took weeks or even months to develop. Tello urged the Court to discharge Green of the charges, but his argument was rejected by Judge David Lampe. After all the testimony and closing arguments from the attorneys were heard, Judge Lampe declared that the evidence presented provided sufficient probable cause for McCoy and Green to face trial for elder neglect/abuse leading to Margaret Gray’s deteriorating condition and her ultimate death on April 1, 2011.

McCoy and Green remain in the Lerdo Pre-trial facility.