ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Police say a building that appeared to be set up as a barbershop in Orangeburg was the site of something far more unsettling. Now, a woman has been charged.
The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety said it charged Shaneima Arnise Montgomery with five counts each of neglect of a vulnerable adult and financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult after an inspection in late December.
Police said the door was locked, and they had to turn the lights on when they went to 487 Broughton Street as a follow-up to a previous case. Inside, at the front of the building, they found the location still set up as a barbershop as it had been during their Dec. 19 visit.
But the back of the business housed five older adults - three more people than investigators were aware of. Police said some of the five were bed-ridden, and one person cited in the report said a resident had recently died.
The police report then detailed a long list of findings, from doors that locked from the outside, several victims in heavily soiled clothing and bedding, the strong smell of urine, at least one resident locked in a closet area, used needles, and numerous fire hazards and code violations.
The report stated that there were more reasons than listed with the location making it unsafe for vulnerable adults. The report also says that all victims were paying different amounts of money directly to someone for their care at that location and another.
The report states that Montgomery had a business license at the address for a nonprofit organization called Blue Ink Sign Inc., which was listed as administrative management and general management consult services. The building was not licensed for the supervision of vulnerable adults.
According to the report, all victims were taken to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Health - Orangeburg and are receiving care through the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Montgomery was arrested, and her bond was set at $30,000.
“I am deeply disturbed by the deplorable conditions in which we found the victims involved in these heinous crimes against humanity,” said ODPS Chief Charles Austin, Sr. “I commend Sgt. Deloris Edmunds and the team that worked with her to investigate and uncover the atrocities that were committed against some of our vulnerable citizens whose families entrusted the personal care of their loved ones to the suspects, and their trust was betrayed.”
The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety continues to investigate the incident.
