Elderly man accused of attacking nursing staff at Anadarko rehab center

ANADARKO — A 76-year-old Stephens County man is in jail accused of three counts of assault and/or battery on a medical care provider for an attempted armed breakout from an Anadarko rehabilitation facility.

Anadarko Police Officer Charles Maldonado stated he was called to Anadarko Nursing and Rehabilitation Center the afternoon of Feb. 26 regarding a combative patient. Staff members told the officer George Riley Lindsey had assaulted three staff members, according to the probable cause affidavit.

One nurse said Lindsey said he was going to escape before walking toward an exit door. She said she tried to block him and he grabbed her by the throat and neck and then pulled her hair, knocking her off balance, the affidavit states. Lindsey also fell onto a chair, scraping his back, Maldonado state. Another resident witnessed the incident and confirmed it.

Maldonado learned that two days before, Lindsey fought with another nurse over a knife and, at one point, he put it to a staff member’s neck, according to the affidavit. It began when he threw his lunch tray, complaining the food was too cold. A knife was seen in Lindsey’s pocket and another in his hand and when a nurse tried to grab them, she said, he grabbed her in a headlock and put the knife to her throat. He later dropped the knife and choked another nurse before settling down, according to witnesses. The knives were later taken by police.

Lindsey told Maldonado he’d been joking about escaping and didn’t think it was “a big deal” when he grabbed the staff member, the affidavit states. Maldonado noted Lindsey had a good long-term memory but struggles with short-term things. When being arrested, Lindsey called nursing staff a derogatory term.

Lindsey, of Comanche, has prior Stephens County felony convictions: 2009, two counts of distribution of a controlled substance; and in 2018 for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance – including possession with intent to distribute, records indicate.

Held on $5,000 following his initial appearance Tuesday in Caddo County District Court for the three felony charges, Lindsey is held on $5,000 bond. He returns to court at 9 a.m. May 16 for his preliminary hearing conference.