The Liberian rest home worker who allegedly refused to help an elderly mentally disabled woman severely scalded by a shower became so agitated in court yesterday that a judge refused to lower her bail.
Oretha Ocansey, dressed in a standard orange jail jumpsuit, visibly shook and sobbed loudly during the brief bail reduction hearing. Coupled with reports that Ocansey was also that upset during her arrest, Judge Thomas McGinn Smith was hesitant to facilitate her release from custody. He refused to reduce $150,000 bail to $50,000.
"I question releasing a person like that," Smith said.
Ocansey's defense attorney, Linda Riback, argued that her 22-year-old client posed no flight risk and could have fled the country at any point after the May 5 scalding at ResCare, a long-term mental health facility.
"Certainly if she intended to flee there was ample time," Riback said.
Yesterday was Riback's second unsuccessful attempt to free her client since the woman was arrested by Hayward police last month. During her arrest, Ocansey resisted and argued so much that the local county jail refused to accept her, said prosecutor Melissa McCowen.
Ocansey was fighting because she has just stepped from the shower and wore nothing but a towel, Riback countered.
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A shower is just where Ocansey's troubles allegedly began.
On May 5, Theresa Rodriguez, 50, was seated in the shower when a malfunction caused 145-degree water to pour onto her lap. Rodriguez, who can't speak or walk, suffered third-degree burns over 60 percent of her body. Ocansey, however, allegedly didn't seek help. Instead, she placed a diaper on the woman and let two hours pass before alerting a supervisor. An hour after that, Rodriguez was airlifted to a Santa Clara hospital where she spent more than two months on life support.
At the time of the incident, Ocansey was in the United States for eight months and worked at ResCare for two months as a caretaker.
Authorities do not believe Ocansey purposely injured Rodriguez but hold her liable for delaying medical attention. Ocansey is charged with elder abuse and faces up to four years in prison if convicted. Ocansey has pleaded not guilty.
Ocansey returns to court Aug. 17 for a Superior Court review conference that could settle the matter. If no deal is struck, Ocansey's preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 31.
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