Breakfield v. State

6 A.3d 381, 195 Md. App. 377, 2010 Md. App. LEXIS 149
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedOctober 4, 2010
DocketNo. 617
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 6 A.3d 381 (Breakfield v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Breakfield v. State, 6 A.3d 381, 195 Md. App. 377, 2010 Md. App. LEXIS 149 (Md. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

MATRICCIANI, J.

On February 2, 2009, James Edward Breakfield, appellant, was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City of misappropriation by a fiduciary and felony theft. On the misappropriation count, the court sentenced appellant to one year of imprisonment. On the felony theft count, the trial judge sentenced appellant to three years, suspended all but one year, to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed for the misappropriation conviction. In addition, the court ordered appellant to serve three years probation, beginning with his release from incarceration, and to pay restitution of $14,000.00 to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. Appellant filed a timely appeal, raising the following questions, which we quote:

1. Did the trial court err in excluding the testimony of three defense witnesses?
2. Is the evidence insufficient to sustain the convictions?
3. Are separate sentences for felony theft and misappropriation by a fiduciary improper?
4. Did the trial court err in ordering Mr. Breakfield to pay restitution of $14,000.00 to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB)?

For the reasons set forth below, the judgments shall be affirmed, but we direct the circuit court to merge the prison sentences, vacate the restitution order, and remand for a reconsideration of the restitution issue.

Facts and Proceedings

Appellant was co-owner and manager of C & J Peaceful Assisted Living Home, Inc. (“C & J”), which had two locations in Baltimore City. Nellie Jackson was a 78 year-old resident at the C & J facility located at 1011 Reverdy Road, where she stayed for a total of 15 days in the summer of 2006. Appellant’s trial was conducted from January 29 until February 2, 2009, and concerned two counts: first, fraudulent misappropriation of Ms. Jackson’s money that he held in a fiduciary capacity, in violation of Md.Code (2002, 2006 Repl.Vol.), § 7-[382]*382113(a)(1) of the Criminal Law Article (“CL”), and, second, felony theft, in violation of CL § 7-104. The criminal acts were alleged to have taken place between June 22, 2006, and August 2, 2006. The State’s first witness at trial was Sharon Smith, assistant business manager at HCR Manor Care-Dulaney in Towson (“Manor Care”), who testified that Ms. Jackson resided at Manor Care for 41 days in May and June of 2006. On June 22, 2006, Ms. Jackson was discharged from Manor Care to C & J, and Manor Care issued her two checks, representing the balance of her funds held on account. The first check, dated June 22, 2006, was for $25,000.00, and the second check, dated June 23, 2006, was for $2,404.49. Each check was payable to the order of “Nellie Jackson, c/o C & J Peaceful Asst. Liv. Home.” Ms. Jackson returned to Manor Care in late November 2006, where she stayed until March 2007, when she was discharged to Maryland General Hospital. Ms. Jackson died in 2008.

Gina Jennings, the Director of Nursing at Manor Care, testified that Ms. Jackson was an elderly, frail woman who spent most of the time in her room, doing things like crossword puzzles and writing letters. She neither harmed anyone nor was at risk for wandering or leaving the building. Manor Care provided additional one-on-one care only if a resident was a risk to herself or to others and only if such care was ordered by a physician. If a resident desired one-on-one care but it was not medically ordered, Manor Care would provide it through an outside agency, at the resident’s expense.

Ms. Jennings testified that the only change in Ms. Jackson’s condition between her first and second stay at Manor Care was that “she came back with more cardiac medications” due to a heart attack between the two stays, but there was no change in her psychological profile.

Taressa Crest is a health facility nurse surveyor with the Assisted Living Unit of The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She testified that she inspected both of C & J’s locations in 2006. She did not recall the exact dates or whether Ms. Jackson was present at the time of her [383]*383inspections. Ms. Crest found both facilities to be “in compliance,” meaning “they fulfilled the minimum requirements under the COMAR regulations.”

Ms. Crest explained that a resident agreement, required by regulation, is a contract between an assisted living facility and its resident that lists the services to be provided and the fees. There are three levels of care in an assisted living facility, with level three being the maximum care. If a resident wants extra services not included in the resident agreement, an addendum to the resident agreement is required. The purpose for requiring this written addendum is “to prevent misuse of resident funds.” Additional fees may be charged to the resident as long as they are documented in the addendum. If a resident wants one-on-one care, the facility must first have a healthcare practitioner assessment form completed by a physician.

Ms. Crest further testified that a resident’s funds are handled by either the resident, the resident’s agent, or the assisted living facility. If the funds are handled by the facility, written authorization by the resident is required and the facility must keep the funds in an interest-bearing account, separate from the facility’s funds, and keep accurate records of how the resident’s funds are spent. A “representative payee is someone who is authorized to manage the account of the resident.” Ms. Crest was not sure whether appellant was an authorized payee of Ms. Jackson.

The State’s final witness was Yvette Finney, from the Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. She had interviewed Ms. Jackson, employees of assisted living facilities in which Ms. Jackson resided, and she had subpoenaed bank and medical records from the facilities in which Ms. Jackson resided in 2006.

Ms. Jackson signed a resident agreement with C & J on June 16, 2006, which provided that she would pay $3,500.00 per month for level three services, plus a $600.00 security deposit. There was no reference to 24-hour one-on-one care [384]*384in the resident agreement. When Ms. Jackson first arrived at C & J on June 22, 2006, she had $27,404.49 in her account.

Ms. Finney testified that on a C & J initial nursing assessment, signed by Dionne Hudgins, RN on June 27, 2006, it was stated that Ms. Jackson had no difficulty sleeping but she was incapable of administering medications to herself. The pre-printed portion of the form included the following:

Resident’s Medical Status Criteria:

1. The resident’s health care needs are Chronic, Stable, Uncomplicated, Routine.
2. The Environment is Conducive to the Delegation of Nursing Tasks.
3. The Resident is Unable to Perform All of His/Her Own Care.
4. The Resident is in Need of 24-hour Supervision And/or Assistance.

Initially, Ms. Jackson remained at C & J for five days, from June 22 until June 27, 2006, and then was admitted into Good Samaritan Hospital for arthritic pain. She remained at Good Samaritan through June 29, and on June 30, Ms. Jackson was transferred to University of Maryland Hospital for inpatient psychiatric services. Ms.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
6 A.3d 381, 195 Md. App. 377, 2010 Md. App. LEXIS 149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/breakfield-v-state-mdctspecapp-2010.