Arlington PD: Community living home owner arrested

Police are looking into multiple unlicensed community living homes being operated by the suspect's company.

arlington, Texas — Arlington police accuse an arrested boarding home operator of endangering its disabled tenants, including one woman with cerebral palsy who told police she cut her wrists in a desperate attempt to escape the house. 

Authorities charge the 49-year-old suspect, Regla "Su" Becquer, with abandoning or endangering an individual and causing imminent danger of bodily injury. The felony charge carries a maximum 20-year jail sentence, though Arlington police Monday said they expect to charge Becquer with additional crimes. 

Becquer owns "Love and Caring for People, LLC," a company purporting to care for adults who need daily, supervised care. Hospitals refer patients to such unlicensed community living homes when they do not meet the criteria for care at a licensed group home. 

But the Arlington Police Department says its Behavioral Health Law Enforcement Unit received multiple reports of abuse, theft, neglect, and fraud connected to Becquer and her company's homes.

“We’ve learned about some very concerning things occurring within these homes, and we want to ensure that no victims are falling through the cracks,” said Chief of Police Al Jones in a statement. “If you or a loved one has spent any time in one of these homes -- or knows of any other locations this company may be operating out of – we need to know. Fortunately, our investigation has resulted in multiple clients being pulled from the homes so they can receive the legitimate care they need. But there may be others we need to help.”

A warrant for Becquer's arrest details one victim's experience inside a boarding home at 1210 Woodbrook St. in Arlington. 

The record says the woman, who has cerebral palsy and can only move her arms, told police she'd lived in the home for about five days. She said she was promised a bed, but her caretakers instead placed her on a mattress on the floor. 

The warrant alleges caretakers did not change the woman's diaper for days, leaving her to sit in her own feces. When she became upset that she could not leave, the caretakers gave her a mint-flavored liquid medicine that she was not prescribed. 

The victim claimed her caretakers kicked her and poured cups of water on her, hindering her breathing, the warrant says.  

"After the victim repeatedly requested to leave the offense location and was denied, she cut her own wrists hoping someone would call 911 and she would go to the hospital," the warrant says. Police said they observed wounds on the woman's arm that corroborated her story. 

But no one called 911 for the woman, records show. Instead, the warrant says the victim managed to text a friend and told them she was being held against her will. 

Police and other first responders conducted a welfare check on Dec. 13. 

"When the fire department asked if the victim wanted to go to the hospital, she screamed, 'Yes!'" the affidavit reads. "The victim can also be heard in the background of the body-worn camera footage yelling, 'Get me out of here!'"

Authorities say the caretakers at the home were all related to Becquer or dating her relatives. Arlington Police have not found medical licenses for any of them, the warrant says. 

At a press conference Monday, Arlington Police Lieutenant Kimberly Harris said Becquer and her staff did not properly care for their clients, prevented them from seeking medical attention, cut off contact between clients and their families, kept possession of dead clients' property, and used clients' debit cards without their knowledge or consent. 

Harris, commander of the department's Behavioral Health Law Enforcement Unit, also said caretakers gave clients tenants a substance to keep them under control and prevent their exit. 

"Some were being physically assaulted," Harris said. "Some were being neglected, to the point of an individual who was wheelchair bound and did not have a wheelchair in the home and would get around crawling on his arms. We found scratches on his arms."

Harris said, in cases like these, home operators often move tenants from home to home to avoid detection. Becquer is associated with five addresses, police say, though it's not clear whether she was operating a boarding house at each location. 

1210 Woodbrook Street in Arlington, TX7411 Lake Whitney Drive in Arlington, TX7419 Fossil Creek Drive in Arlington, TX2059 Turtle Cove Drive in mansfield, TX1852 Hidden Brook Drive in grand prairie, TX

Neighbors on Woodbrook Street Tuesday told WFAA they took a man who did not speak English from the boarding home to the hospital. He'd been wandering the Arlington street, complaining of chest pain. 

Neighbors in Mansfield said a man who did not speak English twice laid down in the street outside the boarding home, trying to get attention for his chest pain. Each time, someone called 911 and medics took him to the hospital. 

Police have identified multiple potential victims, they said. As of Tuesday evening, about 20 people had called a special voicemail hotline that Arlington officials set up to take reports related to Becquer's case. 

“Our current information on this matter indicates that multiple cities within our County could be affected by this investigation and we join the Arlington Police Department in requesting the public’s assistance so that we ensure we are thoroughly assisting any and all of those affected by the suspected wrongdoing of Regla Becquer,” Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells said in a statement.

Dennis Borel, Executive Director of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities said there is no statewide regulation when it comes to community living homes, also known as board homes. Individuals who live in board homes typically receive social security through disability.

"It's a big issue that this state has been struggling for for many many years. These homes are one step above from being unhoused. They're about the cheapest care you can get," Borel said. "This is a solvable problem. It's a state issue, and if the state is not gonna do anything, at least local cities can adopt local ordinances to regulate these board homes."

Police removed victims from the five homes, and some, who required emergency medical care, were found to be malnourished.

Arlington Police are also investigating how Becquer took ownership of the home on Woodbrook Street. Probate court documents show the previous homeowner left her estate to Becquer in a one-sentence, handwritten will dated 19 days before her death. 

So far, Becquer has only been charged for allegedly abandoning the woman with cerebral palsy, police say. 

Becquer is now jailed on a $750,000 bond. 

Police are urging any current or past clients of Love and Caring for People LLC and/or client’s family members to call a special tip line that has been set up at (817) 575-3230. This is a voicemail-only line that will be monitored daily.

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