Cherry workers found guilty of assault, seek trial -Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus

Two former Cherry Hospital workers accused of beating a patient were found guilty of misdemeanor assault on a handicapped person on Tuesday, Wayne County District Court officials said.

Before a "very small audience," Judge David Brantley weighed evidence presented by state Assistant Attorney General Doug Thorne and two attorneys for the defendants, a court clerk said.

Taniko Dominique Upton, 33, and William Kenneth Johnson, 52, were fired this summer after being accused of beating a male patient on Aug. 18. According to the arrest warrant, which was served by Cherry Hospital police, the pair were accused of striking the victim "on or about the abdomen area, knocking same to the floor, kicking and punching him in the head and side areas."

That was around the time federal investigators released a reported detailing the separate death of Steven Sabock, who died after allegedly being ignored by hospital staff for more than 22 hours. Read More Here ...
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