A 27-year-old overnight nursing assistant at an Edmond senior living community has been charged with a felony after a resident's daughter reviewed camera footage she says shows him choking her father, an Alzheimer's patient, with his own shirt collar. Gerald T. Ojongaki was fired from Touchmark at Coffee Creek after the allegation surfaced, and an arrest warrant was issued for him during the week of September 7, though Edmond police confirmed he had not yet been taken into custody.
According to court documents cited by KFOR, police were called to Touchmark at Coffee Creek in July 2026 after the patient's daughter saw what she described as an overnight nursing assistant physically assaulting her father. She had reviewed Ring camera footage from her father's room that allegedly showed Ojongaki moving the patient from his bedroom to the facility's common area in a wheelchair, then backing him out of a bathroom in the chair.
Investigators say the footage allegedly showed Ojongaki grabbing the victim by the back of his t-shirt and pulling him backward into the wheelchair; at one point, the patient could be seen grabbing at his own throat. The victim was heard making a garbled groan, according to investigators, and Ojongaki allegedly choked him with the shirt collar in the process.
Aide's Account Conflicts on Intent
When questioned by police, Ojongaki allegedly admitted to grabbing the victim from behind, but he told investigators he did not remember how he grabbed the victim and said he had no intention of abusing him. He also said the victim may have been falling out of his wheelchair, an account that offers a different explanation than the one investigators drew from the footage — the dossier does not indicate how, or whether, that conflict has been resolved.
Ojongaki has been charged with a felony related to the alleged abuse of an Alzheimer's patient, as reported by KFOR. Because the victim is a person with Alzheimer's, Oklahoma law classifies him as a vulnerable adult, which subjects the case to enhanced sentencing under the state's Elderly and Incapacitated Victim's Protection Act, according to Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals jury instructions. Under Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, a caretaker convicted of physical abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult faces felony penalties of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per Justia's summary of the statute.
Facility Says It Acted Immediately
Touchmark at Coffee Creek said resident safety and well-being are its highest priority and stated the alleged conduct was inconsistent with its values and team-member standards, the station's report notes. The facility said it took immediate action after learning of the allegation, and Touchmark no longer employs Ojongaki after he was reportedly fired by Touchmark administration. Local law enforcement and state regulators reviewed Touchmark's response and confirmed that appropriate actions were taken, per the same account.
The daughter's ability to catch the alleged abuse on camera traces back to a 2020 change in Oklahoma law. The Oklahoma Senate notes that the Barbara E. Hoover Act extended electronic monitoring rights to assisted living residents, allowing residents and their legal representatives to install devices such as video cameras in facility rooms, provided written notice is submitted and co-resident consent conditions are met — rights that previously applied only to nursing home residents.
Edmond Facility Sits Amid Growing Memory Care Scrutiny
Touchmark at Coffee Creek is a licensed assisted living center with a licensed capacity of 134 residents, offering independent living, assisted living, and memory care, according to CareListings. Other facility details are also discussed.
The case comes as Oklahoma lawmakers have moved to tighten oversight of memory care. Edmond Representative Nicole Miller authored HB 2262, enacted in 2025, which requires facilities advertising memory care to disclose specific care offerings, staffing ratios, and grievance filing procedures, empowering families to lodge complaints with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit, as Hoodline previously reported in its coverage of the memory care disclosure law. The Alzheimer's Association Oklahoma Chapter estimates more than 70,500 Oklahomans aged 65 and older live with Alzheimer's disease, and the state saw a 152% surge in Alzheimer's-related deaths between 2000 and 2022.
Families concerned about a vulnerable adult's care can report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation to Oklahoma Human Services' Adult Protective Services hotline. It remains to be seen whether Edmond police will execute the pending arrest warrant for Ojongaki, and whether state health regulators or Adult Protective Services will pursue further sanctions or inspections at Touchmark at Coffee Creek following the case.
