Elder abuse, manslaughter charges upheld against Manse on Marsh owner, ex-administrator

A San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge on Friday upheld felony charges of elder abuse and involuntary manslaughter levied by the state against the owner and former administrator of local assisted living facility Manse on Marsh.

Facility owner Christopher Edward Skiff, 54, and Gary Lee Potts, 63, who formerly ran the Manse on Marsh, had pleaded not guilty to two charges each for the death of 65-year-old Manse on Marsh resident Mauricio Edgar Cardenas.

Cardenas died in December 2014 after he was struck by a car as he walked in the dark about 10 miles from the facility on Los Osos Valley Road in San Luis Obispo.

The state alleges that the two bent the rules to accept Cardenas, who may have had dementia; Manse on Marsh was not licensed to care for diagnosed dementia patients. An affidavit drafted by a California Department of Justice special investigator alleges the facility conspired to admit residents with dementia while also cutting down on staffing in order to increase profits.

The facility had been cited by authorities for doing just that in 2008.

Attorneys for the defendants previously argued that state policy at the time of Cardenas’ death allowed facilities like Manse on Marsh to accept patients with mild or secondary diagnosis dementia. They allege Cardenas had lived at the facility for nine months and was independent enough to go jogging alone nearly every day.

The preliminary hearing for Skiff and Potts began in January, but was stretched over nearly six months due to witness availability and other logistical issues.

In a preliminary hearing, a judge hears testimony and evidence — usually a fraction of what would be presented at trial — and rules whether the prosecution has presented enough probable cause to hold the defendants to answer on all charges.

Because it involves a state-licensed facility, the case is being prosecuted by the California Attorney General's Office.

On Jan. 24, Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy heard testimony from Sherry Zamanigan, special agent with the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. Zamanigan testified that the state began its investigation in 2015 following a complaint by a former employee.

That employee told Zamanigan that Cardenas should not have been at the facility because it’s not licensed to care for dementia patients, and didn’t receive a waiver for housing, Zamanigan testified. One employee told Zamanigan that Skiff had asked an employee to alter Cardenas' medical records, she testified.

But under cross examination by Skiff's attorney, Robert Sanger, Zamanigan testified that that employee had previously been fired for misconduct, and Manse administrators had lodged a complaint against the employee with the state Board of Registered Nursing.

Sanger also questioned whether Manse on Marsh administrators were able to or accept patients with mild cognitive impairment, as opposed to diagnosed dementia, to which Zamanigan replied: "It wasn't black and white."

Lastly, Zamanigan acknowledged that she might have told employees during interviews that she personally didn't believe Cardenas should have been at the facility.

"I did say that, but it was after the fact," Zamanigan said Jan. 24.

On Wednesday, Sanger referred questions to Manse on Marsh CEO Farron Bernhardt, who wrote in an email that while the facility's administrators are disappointed the case is proceeding to trial, they're "confident the legal process will affirm our innocence."

Attorney Bradley Brunon, representing Potts, further added that the state's burden of showing probable cause is a much lower threshold than the prosecution's burden of proving the alleged crimes were committed beyond reasonable doubt, which will be required to convict Skiff and Potts at trial.

Brunon said that while Cardenas' death was a tragedy that affected the facility's entire staff, testimony in the case has shown that Cardenas was "thriving" for the nine months he lived at the facility. The attorney also said environmental conditions such as the lightless section of road on the moonless evening Cardenas was killed contributed to the tragedy.

"All concerned feel very sorry for these events but the prosecution, in our opinion, is simply compounding the tragedy," Brunon said.

Skiff and Potts are due back in court Monday for a second arraignment.

This story was originally published May 30, 2018 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Elder abuse, manslaughter charges upheld against Manse on Marsh owner, ex-administrator."