Two St. Pete assisted living facilities shut down for 'deplorable' conditions

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - St. Petersburg police found residents of two assisted living facilities in deplorable conditions.

They were living without running water, electricity, and basic necessities, according to police.

Thursday afternoon officers shut down the homes run by Tampa Bay Behavioral Health, on 2nd Avenue South in St. Pete.

The two group homes – one for men and one for women – housed disabled adults.

Over time, police say they've responded to 60 calls there, but when one resident invited an officer inside on Thursday, that officer observed more than enough to shut the two homes down.

 “I'm furious. That's my baby. I'm furious," said Nicole Ford, whose son lived in one of the homes.

Ford never imagined her son, Rotharrio was living in those conditions.

“In the kitchen, there is no water, there is no refrigerator, there is trash everywhere, the sink is disgusting, there is mold everywhere, there are mattresses everywhere,” Ford told us.

She says she placed her trust in Marcus Anderson, the CEO of Tampa Bay Behavioral Health, to watch over her son.

Instead, Ford says he was taking advantage of residents and their families.

“You are going to hear my roar. You are not going to do that to my child. This is my child. Nobody else has family so I am going to speak out for them as well because that is unacceptable,” she said through tears.

Police say some residents were running extension cords to the outside power pole for electricity. Nine adults who need help the most are now displaced.

DCF is working to figure out what went wrong and police have begun their own investigation.

 “Clearly he is taking their money to provide them a safe place to live and have some oversight because they aren't able to live on their own. At this point that's when the state will have to come in and determine what happened,” explained Yolanda Fernandez with the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Fox 13 contacted Marcus Anderson for answers, but he hung up and would not return our calls. Records show his license for was surrendered in 2017.

There were multiple citations against Tampa Bay Behavioral Health centers including failed background screenings for employees, a resident complaint for no structure, and another of his money being taken.

No charges have been filed yet, but could come soon.