Hollister man accused of felony elder abuse

Hollister Police arrested a local man on suspicion of elder abuse, following an investigation spurred by the hospitalization of the suspect’s grandmother, authorities said. 

On Dec. 10, Hollister Police received a report about an 83-year-old woman who had been admitted to an area hospital in critical condition, the Hollister Police Department said. 

An investigating Hollister Police officer began uncovering the facts and circumstances of the hospitalization, and found that the woman had been improperly cared for over a period of at least several weeks, authorities said. The neglect resulted in the woman suffering extensive injuries that required immediate medical attention. 

Hospital staff were able to stabilize the woman’s condition “to a degree of comfort,” but due to the severity of her injuries she remains in “very critical condition,” says a press release from the Hollister Police Department. 

Detectives obtained and executed a search warrant at the home of Samuel Gonzales, 43, on Comienzo Drive in Hollister, police said. Officers found evidence that the victim had lived in substandard conditions in her room within the home. 

Police said they notified San Benito County Health and Human Services of the ongoing investigation. 

Gonzales, the woman’s caretaker, was at the home during the search and was arrested on suspicion of attempted involuntary manslaughter and felony elder abuse, police said. Gonzales was booked at San Benito County Jail.