Nurse who injured ‘barely verbal’ elderly patient gets probation following plea deal
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POCATELLO — A Pocatello man who left his patient at an assisted living facility injured has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.
Geffrey Neil Parkin, 25, pleaded guilty to two counts of abusing a vulnerable adult at a hearing Tuesday, court records show. As part of a plea agreement, a single felony charge of abusing a vulnerable adult was amended in favor of the misdemeanor charges.
He changed his plea during a hearing Tuesday, at which time he was sentenced to two years of probation by magistrate judge Carol Tippi Jarman, court records show.
Parkin was arrested in December after police were contacted to report bruises suffered by a patient at an assisted living facility. The victim, who was identified as suffering from “severe Alzheimer’s” and “barely verbal,” had bruising to both arms.
Officers spoke with a nurse who had aided the victim the day prior. They said that the victim had been in a good mood and did not have any bruising. The nurse working when officers arrived at the facility said that the victim was bruised when they began work that day so they alerted management.
Parkin admitted to officers that he had injured the victim, saying that at the psychiatric hospital where he had worked prior the things he had done were allowed. He said that he reached a “boiling point” with the patient, who was trying to leave their room, and used what he believed to be necessary force.
Parkin received probation in place of a 180-day prison sentence — 154 days of that sentenced was suspended. Parkin received credit for 11 days time served and the final 15 days was given to Parkin’s probation officer as a discretionary sentence.
Of the $2,389.45 in fees and fines, $1,500 was suspended, according to court records.