ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A woman and her daughter have been convicted of forcing a disabled adult to live in “horrific conditions,” according to the DeKalb County District Attorney.
According to the district attorney, Valerie West, 58, and Erica West, 36, housed disabled adults in three homes in unincorporated areas of Decatur between March 2017 and February 2019. In November 2018, DeKalb County police officers searched the homes and found bedbug-infested mattresses, broken toilets and showers, and “empty kitchen cabinets with rat feces on the shelves.”
The investigation revealed that Valerie and Erica West were substitute payees for adults who received government checks. The Wests ignored residents and used the checks for utility bills and personal expenses, the district attorney’s office said.
According to the district attorney, residents told police their homes frequently lost power because their electric bills had not been paid. Residents were also told not to call 911. Trial testimony alleged that “one of the residents assaulted another resident inside the home, but the victim did not seek medical attention for two days because the residents were afraid to call for help.”
Valerie West was convicted of neglect of a person with a disability, terroristic threatening, four counts of depriving a person with a disability of essential services, exploitation of a person with a disability, and identity fraud. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with five years in prison and the rest on probation, and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. She was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Erica West was found guilty of neglect of a person with a disability, two counts of exploitation of a person with a disability, and identity fraud. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with three years on home confinement and the rest on probation, 100 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $3,458 in restitution.
According to the local prosecutor’s office, during their sentences, the defendants will not be allowed to “house elderly or disabled persons or act as substitute recipients for elderly or disabled persons.”
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