Longview nursing home employee arrested after tying resident to bed

LONGVIEW – According to our news partner KETK, a Longview nursing home employee was arrested on March 20 after she reportedly left a patient tied to the bed for more than five hours. According to an affidavit, Simone Monique Barnes, was charged with unlawful restraint after exposing the victim to substantial risk of serious injuries. The victim, who is 55-years-old, has a history of falling and is unable to care for herself independently, records indicate.

On March 11, the Medical Fraud Control Unit of the Texas Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation against Barnes. According to the affidavit, investigators learned that the victim was found tied to her bed at around 8:15 a.m. on March 6. Black leggings were tied to both of the victims legs, keeping her restrained to her bed, however officials said the victim did not sustain any injuries.

Once the patient was discovered, a manager was notified and took pictures of the victim in the restraints before releasing her. The manager then sent the pictures along with a written statement from the victim to investigators.

Following the incident, an officer from the Longview Police Department interviewed Barnes. During the interview, Barnes said she had been employed by the nursing home since 2015. Barnes had been the overnight CNA for the victim for about a year and had become familiar with the victim’s medical ailments.

Records show that Barnes admitted she was in the victim’s room on March 6 at around 3:15 a.m. and claimed the victim was awakened by another patient trying to get out of bed. Barnes reportedly tied the victim using a pair of leggings so that she would not get out of bed and fall while Barnes was tending to other patients.

Barnes went home at 6 a.m. after her shift ended and said she forgot that she had left the victim tied to the bed until she received a call from an administrator asking her to return to the facility.

Based on the evidence from the case, Barnes has since been charged with unlawful restraint for intentionally restraining the victim to her bed for over five hours. She is being held in the Gregg County Jail on a $40,000 bond.