JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Residents who live on the street near a Northside group home where 10 physically and mentally handicapped residents between the ages of 46 and 62 were found locked inside said the conditions there were horrible.
Atakelte Admasu (pictured below), the owner of the group home, was arrested and charged with false imprisonment and negligence of disabled adults.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the rooming house at 1346 Agnes St. was previously licensed as a group home, but that the business license fee hadn't been paid since 2011.
Residents in the area said people would walk up and down the street looking for food, waiting for food and going through the garbage looking for food because they weren't getting it at the group homes.
Calvin Winters lived in a group home across the street from the one that was shut down. His family said he was part of the group at the house and has mental issues.
"What was it like in there?" News4Jax's Jim Piggott asked.
"Hell," Winters said. "No hot water, no cold water, nothing."
"Was there food?" Piggott asked.
"No, I brought it out of the dumpster," Winters said.
Residents said those in the group home were wearing the same clothes all week long. They said the home being exposed will be for the good of everyone and the neighborhood will improve.
When firefighters and police arrived at the home, they found padlocked gates, food cabinets locked and deplorable conditions. Admasu said he locked doors and gates for the safety of residents. But the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration did not see it that way. They are still investigating.
"In a case like this, there are a lot of people we are going to need to talk to, including the people who are living there, friends and relatives and anyone else with direct operating knowledge of this facility," DCF spokesman John Harrell said.
The facility was licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration. Group homes are inspected every two years.
This home was inspected a year ago and had some issues with staff training. The same training issues were documented in January and March and cleared in April.
The latest situation shut the home down last week.