PHOENIX — A patient at a nursing home in Phoenix was arrested this week after caretakers allegedly saw him sexually assaulting another patient.
Daniel Yazzie, 57, was arrested at La Estancia Nursing & Rehabilitation Center near 40th Street and Chandler Boulevard on Monday.
Yazzie was arrested on one count of sexual assault, two counts of sexual abuse and one count of vulnerable adult abuse.
According to court documents, Yazzie allegedly sexually assaulted an elderly woman who resides in the same facility on June 30.
A nurse assistant saw Yazzie, who is a wheelchair-bound double leg amputee, facing the woman, who also uses a wheelchair, in an outside courtyard.
When the nurse assistant approached Yazzie, she saw that he "had his hand in front of the victim's pants."
Yazzie then allegedly removed his hands from her pants and said he was sorry and that it would not happen again.
The woman, who suffers from Alzheimer's and has difficulty with communication, gestured to her breasts and genitals when the nurse assistant asked her about what happened.
When officers arrived, Yazzie allegedly told them that "the spirit of his deceased grandfather had entered his body and told him to touch the victim."
Yazzie allegedly admitted to touching the woman's breasts and genitals over and under her clothing.
The woman said she did not like it when Yazzie touched her breast and tried to push his hand away. She also said she told him "No" and "Don't do that" when he touched her genitals, according to court documents.
Yazzie maintained that it was the spirit of his dead grandfather who made him touch the woman and that he did not want to do it.
Court documents said Yazzie is a "danger" to the woman because of her vulnerable state and that he lives four doors down from her in the care facility.
He was ordered to post $250,000 bond in order to be placed on electronic monitoring and is set to appear in court next on Monday.
