[steppenwolf]

http://www.komotv.com/stories/35546.htm

'I Wouldn't Even Wish Them On My Worst Enemy'

March 4, 2005




EVERETT - James Greene has suffered through several challenges in his life.

A 13-year veteran of submarines in the U.S. Navy, he received a full medical discharge when he developed multiple sclerosis. He was severely injured in a hit-and-run accident when a car slammed into his bicycle from behind.

His injuries, and now advanced multiple sclerosis, have left him a quadriplegic and fully dependent on other people to survive.

But his biggest disappointment came in a cramped Everett hotel room. That's where he's been held captive since December of last year.

He receives government assistance to pay for food, medicine, and a part-time caregiver. In November he says the caregiver abruptly quit.

"And these two showed up," he said of a man and a woman who appeared the next day. "And they took charge."

Greene says they refused to move him from his wheelchair parked in the corner of the room. They held him captive, wouldn't let anyone else see him, wouldn't let him take or receive phone calls, fed him sleeping pills to shut him up and starved him on purpose.

[angelize56]

That's horrible!!! Where exactly did the two new "caregivers" come from?? I see it says they were homeless??? I think this man has suffered enough and the government had better start taking care of him!! You think he'd be in a VA run long term care facility at least! This is such a sad way for this man to end up...it's a travesty!!

[bassetman]

Originally Posted by steppenwolf

http://www.komotv.com/stories/35546.htm

'I Wouldn't Even Wish Them On My Worst Enemy'

March 4, 2005




EVERETT - James Greene has suffered through several challenges in his life.

A 13-year veteran of submarines in the U.S. Navy, he received a full medical discharge when he developed multiple sclerosis. He was severely injured in a hit-and-run accident when a car slammed into his bicycle from behind.

His injuries, and now advanced multiple sclerosis, have left him a quadriplegic and fully dependent on other people to survive.

But his biggest disappointment came in a cramped Everett hotel room. That's where he's been held captive since December of last year.

He receives government assistance to pay for food, medicine, and a part-time caregiver. In November he says the caregiver abruptly quit.

"And these two showed up," he said of a man and a woman who appeared the next day. "And they took charge."

Greene says they refused to move him from his wheelchair parked in the corner of the room. They held him captive, wouldn't let anyone else see him, wouldn't let him take or receive phone calls, fed him sleeping pills to shut him up and starved him on purpose.

That is pretty bad!

[poochee]

This is unbelievable. And this is "supposed" to be a civilized country! I'm sure there are many other similar atrocities.

[MSM Hobbes]

Disgusting.

More here: http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/...captive001.cfm

EVERETT - Police arrested a man on Wednesday who allegedly had kept a quadriplegic Navy veteran against his will inside a south Everett motel since November.

If you think someone you know is being abused, call the state Department of Health and Social Services hotline at 866-END-HARM.

James Greene, 50, appeared pale and dehydrated when Snohomish County sheriff's deputies found him inside a small room littered with garbage and clothes, according to court documents.

They arrested a man, 33, for investigation of unlawful imprisonment. A woman also was arrested on a felony warrant. Greene told deputies he was kept in his chair in a corner of the room for five months and was deprived of food, water and medication.

"It was worse than solitary confinement. I was trapped," said Greene, who has multiple sclerosis and requires full-time care. Greene said the suspect and his girlfriend moved into his room after his former caregiver quit. Within a month, the suspect had removed the voice and hand controls from Greene's motorized wheelchair, he said in an interview.

Greene was fed two packets of instant cereal and a glass of water every four days, if he was "a good boy and didn't cause any trouble," Greene said. When he told the suspect he wanted to leave or call someone, the man would withhold the food and water, Greene said. He also said the man gave him sleeping pills for days at a time. Weak from lack of food and water, Greene said he wasn't able to yell for help. ,,,snip,,,

and http://www.komotv.com/stories/35563.htm

EVERETT - "So I'd yell and pretty soon I couldn't even yell."

We first met James Greene and shared his story just one day after his rescue from three months being held captive in his wheelchair in the corner of an Everett hotel room. "They would feed me my sleeping pills all day long," he said of the man and woman who masqueraded as his caretakers to allegedly steal his possessions and live off his government paid rent.

A quadriplegic from the combined injuries of a hit-and-run accident and advanced multiple sclerosis, he tried yelling for help when the couple would leave him alone for hours. He says when they were in the hotel room with him they would ignore him in the corner, drape a curtain across the room to hide their activities from view, and refuse to feed him, give him water, or help him to the bathroom for five days at a time.

"I wouldn't even wish them on my worst enemy because they're bad. They're evil," he told us of the man and woman now in jail held on charges of unlawful imprisonment. They were arrested Wednesday when a friend brought a police officer to the apartment after weeks of being denied the right to see and check on James.

So how does this happen to a Navy Vietnam veteran on full medical disability and under the supervision of the Office of Veterans Affairs? "We're kind of tied, our hands are tied," said Veterans Service Center Manager Robert King at Seattle's downtown office for the Department of Veterans Affairs. "The veteran has to be willing to make certain choices to improve his life also."

King says the VA has recommended several times that James Greene agree to move to an assisted living facility where his government-paid care could be more closely monitored and controlled. Greene has repeatedly refused and continues to refuse that move saying he'd rather survive on his own with the help of a hired caretaker. So instead the VA rules require a field examiner to check on him once a year.

King says that between the last field check and now the two alleged criminals stepped into his life and took over from the last approved caregiver who quit unannounced. James became a victim of who he inadvertently let into his life.

"Unless he were to be found incompetent and a guardian appointed through the court then we really can't force the veteran to live any particular place," said King explaining that Greene can't be forced to accept an assisting living or nursing home placement. ,,,snip,,,

Ok, so... who was the prior caregiver that quit unannounced? That person should be fined/jailed for that action. As to the officials only checking on a person once a year, that seems maybe a tad not often enough. But, then again, didn't the friend(s) check on him more often? Why did they wait so long to contact authorities? Confused as that one story indicates he was "captive" for 3 months, whereas other leans towards 5... Nevertheless, these latest two "people", they should hang to rot in a desert w/ fire ants over their worthless bodies, while performing water torture. Scum.

[Sherrylynn]

The VA has offered to help Jim live in an assisted living facility. He has refused and would rather that his friends help him out. The VA also has tried to pre-approve the caregivers that have been assigned to him. He is stubborn. Always has been. What happened to Jim is a horrible thing. Those people should be locked up and the key thrown away. I knew Jim a long time ago. In fact we lived together for some time back in 87. We are both Navy veterans and had alot in common. It just didn't work out between us. He was stubborn back then too! I lost touch with him over the years and when I saw him on the news the other day, I almost passed out on the floor and then.....I cried. How could this happen? I don't understand. If his friends weren't allowed to see him for three months, why didn't they start asking questions? They could have went to the police or to the VA? Why was he in a seedy motel in the first place? If the so called "caregivers" moved him there, why didn't one of his friends question that? I still don't understand. Maybe I never will..

[bassetman]

Originally Posted by Sherrylynn

The VA has offered to help Jim live in an assisted living facility. He has refused and would rather that his friends help him out. The VA also has tried to pre-approve the caregivers that have been assigned to him. He is stubborn. Always has been. What happened to Jim is a horrible thing. Those people should be locked up and the key thrown away. I knew Jim a long time ago. In fact we lived together for some time back in 87. We are both Navy veterans and had alot in common. It just didn't work out between us. He was stubborn back then too! I lost touch with him over the years and when I saw him on the news the other day, I almost passed out on the floor and then.....I cried. How could this happen? I don't understand. If his friends weren't allowed to see him for three months, why didn't they start asking questions? They could have went to the police or to the VA? Why was he in a seedy motel in the first place? If the so called "caregivers" moved him there, why didn't one of his friends question that? I still don't understand. Maybe I never will..

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