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WATCH: US Attorney announces indictment of 3 psychiatric employees in patient's death
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro has announced the indictment of 3 former Psychiatric Institute of Washington employees for criminal negligence in the death of a patient.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro has announced the indictments of three employees at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington.
They are being charged with criminal negligence in the death of a patient.
What we know:
Nelson Kuma, 37, Richard Hounnou, 45, and Norma Munoz-Bent 68, all residents of Maryland, were indicted on charges of criminal negligence.
They appeared in court yesterday for their arraignment. After the arraignment, Kuma, Hounnou, and Munoz-Bent were released pending trial.
They are scheduled to appear before judge Carmen McLean on May 29.
Dig deeper:
In the indictment, it is alleged that on the date of his death, a 58-year-old man became unresponsive and stopped breathing.
Kuma and Hounnou, who were employed by the Psychiatric Institute of Washington as psychiatric counselors, and Munoz-Bent, a registered nurse, found the victim in this condition, but failed to timely and properly assess him.
It's alleged that they did not perform CPR, and failed to provide any potentially lifesaving measures.
The OAG says the victim did not receive life saving measures for at least 21 minutes, and that by the time lifesaving measures started, it was too late, and he could not be resuscitated.
What they're saying:
In a statement, Pirro and Inspector General Lucas acknowledged the work of those who are investigating and prosecuting the case from the Major Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the D.C. Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). They commend the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Facci, who is prosecuting the case.