No charges yet filed in group home case

District Attorney's spokeswoman Susan Mickey said that as of Wednesday afternoon, no charges have been filed against a woman accused of keeping mentally ill adults in disgusting conditions at a San Bernardino group home.

Pensri Sophar Dalton , the group home's operator, was arrested Friday on suspicion of elder and dependent abuse after San Bernardino police officers and City Attorney's office investigators observed residents living in outbuildings that were initially described as chicken coops. Residents were also said to have used buckets as toilets.

Dalton could not be reached immediately for comment.

Police Chief Keith Kilmer and City Attorney James F. Penman both provided updates on the investigation during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Kilmer reported that police will submit evidence to the District Attorney's office for a possible criminal filing. He and Penman also said that investigators spent Saturday checking out seven other properties connected to Dalton. The prison camp-like conditions observed at Golden Avenue were not seen at the other addresses, which were said to be in San Bernardino, Highland and unincorporated zones.

Also on Tuesday, a woman who said her aunt lived at the Golden Avenue house, told the council of her observations at the Golden Avenue home.

Gloria Lechuga, 62, of San Bernardino, said her aunt, Betty Herrera, lived for about two years at the Golden Avenue home. Lechuga reported that when she visited her aunt inside the home, the door was locked behind her. She also said she could not bring a meal to her aunt without it being distributed among the home's other residents.

"You would not want to put your dog there," Lechuga said.

Herrera, who suffered from diabetes and heart problems, died in January of this year while in medical care after breaking a hip sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2008, Lechuga said. Herrera was 82.

Lechuga's mother, also named Gloria Lechuga, told reporters what it was like to visit Herrera at the group home.

"When I walked in there, it was all dark and they closed the door behind me .... they locked the door and they had a bunch of dogs," the elder Lechuga said, adding that the temperature inside the home was very cold and the atmosphere reeked of body odor.

Asked by reporters why the did not report their concerns to police or any other government agencies, the Lechugas said they relied on assurances from another relative that he would take care of the situation.

The relative did not return phone calls Tuesday.