Monday, November 9, 2009

TX: Lubbock State School worker turns himself in

09:15 AM CST on Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Associated Press
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-stateschool_07met.ART.State.Edition1.4badeb0.html

LUBBOCK – The fired Lubbock State School worker accused in the death of a resident has turned himself in.

Thirty-eight-year-old Doneil Smith was indicted on a manslaughter charge last month.

He remains in Lubbock County Jail with bail set at $50,000.

A woman at the office of his attorney, Frederick Stangl, said Stangl was unavailable to comment Friday.

A coroner ruled that the death in June of Michael Nicholson, 45, was caused by suffocation during a struggle.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports that agency documents indicate Smith allegedly restrained Nicholson by sitting on him.

Six state school workers, including Smith, were fired after the incident. Laura Albrecht, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, says the firings were tied to the "physical abuse and neglect" of a resident.

The school is now called the Lubbock State Supported Living Center.

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