A Gwinnett County man was arrested Monday, nearly two weeks after police say his 88-year-old mother was found barely responsive in a filthy, unsanitary room at the apartment they allegedly shared.
Tony Everett Sherman, 56, faces one count of felony elder abuse and was booked into the Gwinnett jail, where he remains without bond, online records show. Duluth police found his mother at her home on South Street on Oct. 18 after two maintenance workers realized she was unresponsive and called 911, fearing she was dead, according to an incident report.
The workers were there to make repairs and noticed her lying in bed in a dark, bare room. She was covered and not responding, the report states. The repairmen worked inside for about an hour, periodically trying to speak with her with no response, then decided to call 911.
When officers arrived, she still didn’t respond even when they shouted at her. That is when they moved her blanket and noticed a “heavy odor of urine,” the report details, adding that the woman then moved her head and grimaced in pain. Officers could see that she was wrapped in bedding instead of clothes and that her back was covered in sores. She appeared to be in serious pain as officers checked her wounds, the report said.
The incident report described the room as filthy, with old food strewn across the floor even though the woman appeared to be malnourished. Police called an ambulance, and emergency medical personnel responded and took over the woman’s care. She was taken to Northside Hospital Duluth, and officials have not provided an update on her condition.
Investigators got Sherman’s phone number from a neighbor and called him to the scene, according to the report. When he arrived, he identified himself and said he was the woman’s primary caregiver.
At first, Sherman told officers he did not live with his mother and had a home in Lawrenceville, the report stated. He said he tried to visit her multiple times each day but that it was sometimes difficult because he was looking for work. Sherman then changed his story and said he did live with her, according to the report. His shifting story raised suspicions among officers at the scene.
“She said that she never, ever wanted to go into a nursing home, you know, so I’m doing the best I can,” he is heard telling officers on body camera footage released by police.
Sherman left after providing a written statement to investigators. But less than two weeks later, police obtained a warrant for his arrest.
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