- February 27, 2025
A home health care nurse was arrested on Feb. 21, after in-home camera surveillance footage revealed he had hit and kicked a Palm Coast disabled patient.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office reports that 68-year-old John Jenkins, of Daytona Beach, was seen on the footage kicking and striking the victim with an iPad. Deputies initially responded to the home on Feb. 8, following a report of a battery by a reporting party who advised the victim was a disabled adult who was unable to speak or walk, requiring constant care from a nurse.
The reporting party told the FCSO that she overheard Jenkins, the victim's weekend nurse "becoming verbally aggressive towards the victim earlier that day," according to a press release. When she confronted him, he apologized, but the reporting party told deputies she reviewed the surveillance footage from the living room camera based on a "gut feeling." After watching the footage, she confronted Jenkins and ordered him to leave the home.
The following day after initially speaking with deputies, the reporting party reached out again, stating she had reviewed other footage, finding over 25 other instances where Jenkins was seen being physically and verbally abusive toward the victim over the previous week. The FCSO reports other videos showed Jenkins sitting on the victim, throwing items at the victim, punching the victim and shoving the victim's head into the ground.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has opened an investigation into the incident.
On Feb. 19, a deputy obtained a warrant for Jenkins' arrest for four counts of abuse of a disabled adult. He was arrested two days later by the Daytona Beach Police Department at his home, and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail where he was later released on a $40,000 bond.
"This is a tragic and sickening case of abuse, where a vulnerable adult was taken advantage of by someone entrusted with their care,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in the press release. “We are grateful to the family member who had the foresight to place cameras inside the home, and then quickly reported the ongoing abuse of a disabled adult. Most home healthcare aides and nurses do a great and loving job providing care, but this case highlights the importance of being vigilant about the care your loved ones receive, especially those who cannot speak for themselves."
