Louisiana nursing home owner arrested after residents died in botched hurricane evacuation

The owner of seven Louisiana nursing homes whose residents suffered in squalid conditions after being evacuated to a warehouse as Hurricane Ida approached last year was arrested on Wednesday, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced.

Bob Glynn Dean Jr., 68, faces multiple counts of cruelty to persons with infirmities, Medicaid fraud and obstruction of justice, the attorney general said in a news release.

In the days after Ida hit, last August 29, the state reported the deaths of seven people who had been evacuated to the warehouse in the town of Independence. Five were classified as storm-related deaths. State and federal officials described miserable conditions at the warehouse, with some bedridden residents on floor mattresses crying for help and some with full diapers.