Disabled woman living in her own filth begged to leave Arlington group home, affidavit says
ARLINGTON, Texas - Arlington police say its officers found a disabled woman on a mattress on the floor, lying in her own filth at an unlicensed group home.
Her story is one of many horrific stories of victims allegedly being held against their will at homes run by an Arlington woman.
Disability advocates say people prey on residents of what they call ‘board homes’ because they need help, are low income and likely don’t have contact with their families.
Court documents paint a disturbing picture of what was allegedly going on in a home near AT&T Stadium.
Investigators say a woman called 911 in December after getting texts from her friend that she was being held against her will.
When Arlington police arrived, they found a disabled woman on a mattress on the floor. Court documents say she was living in her own filth.
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The judge said Joslyn Sanders was not credible as a witness, and it is in the best interest of her son that he remains in the current custodial situation CPS has ordered.
She said she wanted to go to the hospital and told officers she’d been given medicine and didn’t know what it was.
She told officers she tried to get out of the house, even going so far as to "cut her own wrists hoping someone would call 911." Police say that never happened.
Police say the home is one of five unlicensed bed and boards operated by Regla Su Becquer. She’s charged with abandoning or endangering an individual in imminent danger of bodily injury.
Dennis Borel is the executive director of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. He says unlicensed board homes are an ongoing problem in the state.
"They are ripe to be exploited," he said. "And, frankly, it sounds like this board home operator was exploiting. There's no other way to sugarcoat it, really."
Borel says the homes cater to people with mental illness and disabilities who are typically low-income. He said there’s a years-long waiting list for state Medicaid-licensed programs, so some turn to board homes.
"You can put your family member in a regulated state Medicaid, HCS group home. Well, they would probably love to do that. But if you tell them, they'd have to put their name on a waiting list and wait for 20 years and then quickly see that that wasn't a real solution," he said.
Borel is hoping the state does more to fix problems at homes like this but notes cities can take action.
"Local cities, through its ordinance making, can regulate these board homes," he said. "I would recommend that this might be a shocking enough situation that the city of, I guess this is in Dallas and some of these others, Arlington ought to look at ordinance and regulating these things."
More charges are to come for Becquer. This court document was in reference to one incident in December.