UPDATE, 3:22 p.m.: District Attorney Maggie Fleming writes us to say that Gina Chamberlain did not work for Redwood Coast Pace. She worked on her own as a private caregiver.

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Humboldt County Office of the District Attorney release:

On April 26th, Humboldt County Judge Lawrence Killoran sentenced Gina Catherine Chamberlain (age 52) to four years and eight months in prison for felony elder abuse in violation of Penal Code Section 368(b)(1).

Ms. Chamberlain had previously been granted felony probation after being convicted in two separate cases — one of theft from an elder by a caretaker and in one of obtaining controlled substances by fraud. Probation conditions for those convictions did not allow Ms. Chamberlain to act as a caregiver.

However, on September 16, 2017, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office received a call of suspected elder abuse after an employee of Redwood Coast Pace (an organization that provides care to the elderly) discovered a fake Fentanyl patch on the thigh of a 79-year-old client. A subsequent investigation by Deputy Chase Kiracofe revealed that while on probation, Ms. Chamberlain had withheld and stolen medication from an elderly citizen while again being paid as a caregiver.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Candace Myers, who serves on the Elder and Vulnerable Adult Services Team funded by Measure Z among other duties.