DUNEDIN, Fla. — A Pinellas County man is facing charges after deputies found the bedridden woman he was supposed to care for living in a home overflowing with trash, urine and feces, according to the sheriff's office.
Richard Goodwin, 65, was arrested around 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Dunedin home. Deputies say the arrest happened while they were performing a follow-up welfare check on the 67-year-old victim.
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The home smelled so strongly of rotting trash and animal feces that deputies had to wear masks, according to a press release.
Inside the home, deputies say the piles of trash were so large they had to create a path to reach the victim's bedroom. Deputies say none of the toilets in the home worked, and all were overflowing with feces.
The only working sink in the home was found on the opposite end of the house from the victim, according to the press release. That part of the home is where Goodwin lived, deputies say.
Deputies observed rats, cockroaches, ants, spiders, flies and mosquitoes inside the home, as well as black colored mold, according to the press release.
They also found ten skinny dogs and 5 large Macaw birds loose inside. Deputies couldn't find any food or water in the home that was available to the victim or the animals, the press release states.
Goodwin was arrested for one count of abuse/neglect of the aged/disabled and two counts of cruelty to animals. He was previously arrested on May 6, 2018 for one count of abuse/neglect of the aged/disabled for neglecting the same victim, according to the press release.
The victim was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and the animals were taken to shelters by Pinellas County Animal Services.
The sheriff's office says the investigation is ongoing.
