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Deputies seek criminal charges against caretaker of disabled in un-air conditioned Palm Coast home

PALM COAST, Fla. — Two people had to be taken to the hospital Wednesday after deputies said they were found living in an un-air conditioned Palm Coast home for the elderly and disabled, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.

Three other people living in the home were relocated, officials said.

The state of the home was found during a random inspection Wednesday.

“(The residents) all had disabilities of some type, so any time you have this kind of heat, things can turn very bad very quickly, and they just weren’t being properly cared for,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. “With these kind of heat conditions, and they already have medical issues to begin with, it can turn into a very serious, life-threatening situation very quick.”

The owner of the home didn’t express the same type of urgency that responding deputies did, Staly said.

“He downplayed it,” Staly said. “He tried to say that the A/C had just gone out and that he had people coming in to repair it.”

The owner couldn’t say who was coming or when, though, Staly said.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is asking the State Attorney’s Office file five felony charges of abuse of elderly or disabled persons against the caretaker, Staly said.

No one was at the Palm Coast home Thursday to respond to the allegations.