VERO BEACH, FL – A man who works as a live-in caretaker for the elderly has been arrested. Police say a live-in caretaker arrested for attacking elderly patient was intoxicated when he pulled s patient from her wheelchair, attacked her for her purse and vehicle. All she was doing was trying to stop him from driving while intoxicated.
Shayne Giacoboni was arrested on charges of battery on a person 65 and older, as well as neglect of the elderly. Upon his arrest, Giacoboni said he did “some dumb things today.” He then advised “it was not a good idea and was a poor choice,” when asked about knocking the patient out of the wheelchair. Giacoboni had been the 72-year-old patient’s caregiver for 20 years and had been living in the patient’s home. On Wednesday, Dec. 30., his patient called authorities after he refused to leave her residence. Giacoboni had been drinking and wanted to take the patient’s vehicle. The patient did not want him to leave with the vehicle.
At that point Giacoboni “became enraged” attempting to snatch her purse as the patient was seated in the wheelchair. As he did so, he pulled the woman from her wheelchair. After she fell, she continued to hold onto the purse and was pulled across the floor. During the scuffle, the patient “grabbed Giacoboni’s genitals in an attempt to get Giacoboni to release her.” Giacoboni then removed from the purse the keys to the vehicle and left the home. He later returned and was drunk and aggressive with her. That is when the patient called authorities.
The patient told investigators that, prior to the incident, she had given Giacoboni permission to drive the car. Giacoboni is being held on $10,000 bond.
