Fifth Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano sentenced Jason Craig of Kalaheo to five years in prison Thursday for the neglect of an 83-year-old man in an illegal home care facility. Riyoji Hirokawa passed away July 27, 2005, due to neglect while
Fifth Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano sentenced Jason Craig of Kalaheo to five years in prison Thursday for the neglect of an 83-year-old man in an illegal home care facility.
Riyoji Hirokawa passed away July 27, 2005, due to neglect while staying in Craig’s home.
Hirokawa suffered from dementia, high blood pressure and Parkinson’s disease.
According to court documents, Hirokawa suffered a heart attack, was severely dehydrated, malnourished and weighed only 88 pounds while under Craig’s care.
Craig also neglected to administer medication to Hirokawa and canceled doctor appointments, prosecutors said. When a doctor did see Hirokawa in March 2005, a tennis ball-sized ulcer was found, the result of a bed sore.
After his released three weeks following surgery for the ulcer, Hirokawa was placed in a nursing home, where he later died.
Court documents state that Hirokawa’s wife paid Craig $4,000 a month for treatment from December 2003 to March 2005, when he was taken to the hospital.
Valenciano found Craig guilty of second-degree assault, a Class C felony, and for operating a care home or hospice without a license, a misdemeanor, last November.
