By: Chris Gilson, cgilson@cbs4qc.com
A Davenport woman is accused of taking advantage of some of our community's most vulnerable citizens.
Melissa Smith, a certified nurse's assistant, turned herself in to police on Monday.
She's accused of stealing more than 9,000 dollars in cash and jewelry from senior citizens at the Fountain's Senior Living Facility in Bettendorf where she worked.
But, it wasn't all police work that landed Smith behind bars.
The watchful eyes of care givers kept other seniors from becoming potential victims.
The folks at fountains are shocked something like this happened to seniors who trust them for care.
But, thanks to some good eyes, the senior living community says they were able to nab Smith in the act.
"It's very surprising and very disappointing," said Quad Cities Executive Director Kris Ward.
Quad Cities Executive Director Kris Ward said cash and jewelry started disappearing in August. But, one day another care giver saw something out of the ordinary.
"One of the other staff reported that she was in an area of an apartment where she wouldn't have a reason to be and at that point we suspended her," said Ward.
Ward said Smith was let go by Fountains in early October.
"The staff, for the most part care very much for the residents and to have someone who is entrusted in their care really take advantage of them, the staff are really upset by that," said she.
Ward said they do background checks on all their employees, but they didn't find any red flags when Smith was hired.
"We also run dependent child abuse registry check and she was cleared to work in healthcare facilities," said she.
Ward said seniors who live in communities like Fountains need to make sure they have valuables locked up and to report anything that goes missing right away.
"What we found out later on is that residents thought they had misplaced something or weren't sure what had happened and we probably could have acted on it quicker," said she.
And she said there's no real reason for seniors to have large amounts of money in their apartments, just enough for everyday needs.
"You know some money to go out to lunch or get your hair done, but it's not necessary to keep 500 dollars in cash," said Ward.
Ward said they did fire a staff member for stealing 20 bucks from a senior in 2009. But, they've never had a case this big.
