Background: The building located on the 5300 block of South Rock Ridge Road in Memphis, Tennessee, where the alleged incident took place (Google Maps). Inset: Monoteus Brown (Shelby County Sheriff’s Office).
An employee at a mental health facility in Tennessee is facing accusations of pouring “boiling” water on the back of a patient, according to Memphis authorities.
Monoteus Brown, aged 33, faces charges of aggravated assault and aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, as indicated by Shelby County court documents. The alleged incident took place on September 17 at a facility designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A resident at the facility operated by Support Solutions of the Mid-South informed his program manager of the incident, claiming Brown “poured boiling water on his back,” as detailed in a complaint affidavit accessed by Law&Crime. The program manager, upon examining the alleged victim, observed “severe burns” on his back.
The resident was taken to a hospital to receive treatment for the burns on his back, according to the Memphis Police Department’s account in the affidavit. The patient remained hospitalized for approximately a week. Police initiated their investigation at the residence on the 5300 block of South Rock Ridge Road in Memphis on the day of the event, September 17.
Roughly a week after they began their investigation, law enforcement was able to interview the alleged victim and the program manager. The patient reportedly conveyed that, besides the boiling water incident, Brown had also previously “punched, kicked, and threatened him with a firearm.”
The patient “has been diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder, and Explosive Disorder,” the complaint states.
When police asked him if he could identify his attacker in a six-person photographic lineup, the patient is said to have “positively identified” Brown “as the person that threw hot water on him.” The patient then showed the investigating sergeant his wounds. According to the officer, “The burns covered his upper back and appeared to be significant in nature.”
Brown was booked into the Shelby County Jail on Monday, jail records state. He was scheduled for a video arraignment on Tuesday and has a bail review hearing on Wednesday.
