Published: July 16, 2008 10:53 pm      

Home operator cleared in death of resident

EBENSBURG — The owner of the defunct Moxham Personal Care Home in Johnstown was acquitted Wednesday of two criminal charges in the death of a disabled resident who had been left collapsed in the hallway overnight.

John Robert Anthony Sr., 51, of the 100 block of Berkley Road, Upper Yoder Township, did not speak to reporters as he left the courtroom with his mother, but defense attorney Jerome Kaharick described his client’s reaction as “complete elation after all he’s been through.”

Jurors deliberated 5½ hours before finding Anthony not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and neglect of a care-dependent person.

Anthony was charged in the Dec. 22, 2006, death of 47-year-old Gregory Hanks, who had lived at the home for 11 months before his death. Hanks had multiple health problems, used a cane and was described as a heavy drinker.

Prosecutors contended that Anthony should have called 911 for help when another resident found Hanks collapsed at the top of the stairs about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 21. The resident, Pamela Patton, testified that Anthony decided the man would be OK there.

Anthony, taking the stand in his own defense, told the jury he had checked on Hanks at 11:30 p.m. – not 9:30 as Patton had recalled.

At that time, Anthony said, Hanks was sleeping and appeared to be in no distress.

Anthony’s testimony was important for the jurors to consider in their deliberations, the defense attorney said.

“From the first time I met with Mr. Anthony, I told him, ‘Tell the truth. You win or lose with the truth,’ ” Kaharick said.

The jury returned to the courtroom three times for re-instruction in the law on the offenses, including the definition of reckless conduct by a caregiver.

District Attorney Patrick Kiniry, who prosecuted the case with First Assistant Heath Long, said he was disappointed in the verdict.

But, he added, “It was a very complicated case as far as the law. I am a firm believer in the jury system. Justice was done. They’re the conscience of the community. I’m a believer in the jury system.”

Kiniry said credibility was an issue for both Anthony and Patton.

“The jury obviously believed Mr. Anthony, and I accept that. He comes across very articulate,” the DA said.

Kiniry had told jurors that they would be setting what the standard of care should be at a personal care home “in a situation in which a patient is found unconscious on the floor and left there for hours and the next day is found dead.”

Kaharick said he believed the critical issue for the jury was the prosecution’s expert testimony about drugs found in Hanks’ body.

A pathologist had testified that he died of a combination of drugs and alcohol and that he could have survived if an ambulance and medical help had been called when he was first discovered on the floor.

Kaharick noted that one of the toxicology findings was that oxycodone was found. But medication-dispensing records at the home showed that Hanks had not received that drug for days before his death, he said.

Anthony, who had operated the home for a number of years in Moxham, had lost his state license and eventually had only three residents, a number that didn’t require a license, before closing the home. He also lost a state license for another personal care home he had operated in Altoona.

In closing arguments, Kaharick maintained that one of Hanks’ many medical problems could have been the cause of death. Despite the prosecution’s attempts to portray Anthony as uncaring, the evidence didn’t support that, Kaharick said.

“I’m not saying you have to like it, but who hasn’t slept on a floor? He didn’t cause the death of Mr. Hanks,” Kaharick told jurors.

Kiniry, in asking for a conviction, said the reasonable thing for Anthony to have done was to call 911.

“Mr. Hanks was in poor health, and Mr. Anthony knew it. He could have made the call,” Kiniry said.

Reflecting unease over criminal responsibility for the death – Hanks had passed out at the home on previous occasions – authorities called an inquest into the death in May 2007.

The coroner’s jury recommended that Anthony face charges. The death was ruled a homicide and the DA’s office filed the two counts.