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Man Faces Charge of Abusing Mother and Keeping Her in Filth

By: Susan Sachs
The New York Times, July 20, 1998

A Newark man charged in New York with assaulting his 76-year-old mother with a stun gun is expected to be extradited to New Jersey today and charged with neglecting her and a brother in their fetid and vermin-infested apartment. The man, Dwight Brown, 46 took his disoriented and excrement-smeared mother to New York University Medical Center on Saturday with a severely infected foot and a stun-gun burn wound under her armpit, the police said.

A hospital social worker called the police, who said Mr. Brown was carrying a stun gun, which delivers an immobilizing electric shock. He was arrested on charges of weapons possession and assault. Later, when two Newark officers went to the Browns' apartment at the 15-story Abington Towers at 402 Mount Prospect Avenue in Newark, they were enveloped in lice and "flying things" and were quickly driven outside by the smell, said Detective Rocco Malanga, a spokesman for the Newark Police Department.

"The conditions were extreme and it was in deplorable condition," he said. "The smell and everything were so much that the two officers retreated immediately and they were already contaminated with lice. The stench was indescribable." Paramedics equipped with ventilators and body suits were summoned. Inside they found Mr. Brown's brother, George, lying among maggots and worms. The police said they believe he is in his 50's and mentally disabled. He is listed in stable condition at University Hospital in Newark with multiple skin ulcers. The mother was listed in critical but stable condition yesterday in New York.

A hearing is expected today on the Newark authorities' request that Mr. Brown be extradited, the police said. Detective Malanga said Mr. Brown would be charged with two counts of neglect of elderly or disabled people. Most of the people and equipment that came into contact with the Browns had to be treated. The two police officers took disinfecting showers and their uniforms were destroyed. Their patrol car and the ambulance that carried George Brown were taken out of service after lice were found in both.