Fire Marshal: Nursing Home Fire 'Suspicious'

SAN ANGELO, TX — Updated — The cause of the fire is suspicious, said Ross Coleman, Fire Marshal for the City of San Angelo, Friday afternoon. He said the investigation of the fire at the former nursing home on Armstrong St. overnight is far from complete, but his team is looking very closely at all classifications of what was the exact cause. Arson is not ruled out, he said.

Early Friday morning at 2 a.m., the San Angelo Fire Department fought a blaze at an abandoned nursing home in the 4200 block of Armstrong St. in northeast San Angelo. The building was destroyed.

The former nursing home is the location where Ramon Ricardo Garcia and his wife Debra are accused of neglecting a patient, Edna Adian, 74. Adian died of bedsores shortly after being rescued by Adult Protective Services in 2015.

Ricardo and Debra Garcia were indicted on first-degree felony charges for failing to provide medical care to Adian.

The couple bonded out of jail on a bond financed by Concho Bail Bonds. Ramon’s bond was set at $100,000 and his wife’s bond at $10,000.  Ramon failed to appear in court on March 7, and his wife failed to appear in court April 4. They have been known to be on the run since. Ramon has a history. He jumped bail in a previous case in 2000, according to court documents.

WATCH:
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The Garcias were not operating the facility as a nursing home at the time of Adian’s death. Instead, it was their home, and they housed up to three elderly clients as allowed by law. With more clients, the facility would have to be certified by the State of Texas.

The couple is facing five to 99 years in prison if convicted.

There were no reported injuries due to the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

If you know of the whereabouts of the Garcias, Louie Perez, proprietor of Concho Bail Bonds if offering a reward for information leading to their arrest. Call him at (325) 650-1176.