Palms West beating: Judge denies bail, house arrest for patient arrested in attack on nurse
(This story was updated because because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
WEST PALM BEACH — A judge has ordered that the man accused of beating a nurse at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital and fracturing 'essentially every bone' in her face remain in jail without bail.
Stephen Scantlebury, 33, from Wellington, is facing a charge of attempted second-degree murder in the Feb. 18 attack on Leelamma Lal, a 67-year old nurse from Royal Palm Beach who remains in critical condition at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach and may lose her eyesight.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office also enhanced the charge to a hate crime saying Scantlebury had "made utterances" about the victim's gender, race or religion but did not specify which one. Lal is of Indian descent.
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Scantlebury pleaded not guilty during a hearing Tuesday at the county jail, his first court appearance since the attack. His wife and children were also present in the courtroom, said Scott Simmons, his attorney with the Rossen Law Firm.
Circuit Judge Donald Hafele declined Simmons' request that Scantlebury be released on $125,000 bond, placed on house arrest and taken to a treatment facility.
The law firm issued a statement last week describing him as "a hardworking, loving husband, father and son" who is dealing with a form of mental illness it did not disclose. It cautioned that the public "has only heard one side of the story — the side presented by law enforcement" and said "the complete story" will come out in time.
After Hafele ordered Scantlebury remain in custody, Dr. Cindy Joseph, Lal's daughter and a neurologist with a practice in Melbourne, told the judge the family wouldn't feel safe if Scantlebury was allowed to go home and that he was a safety risk for the community.
Flanked by a dozen family members and a group of nurses, Joseph added her mother was intubated and still "fighting for her life."
"If he is released and disappears, justice for my mom will not be served,' Joseph said. 'Because of his actions, our lives will never be the same. We live in fear, constantly looking over our shoulders knowing that someone who's capable of such violence could walk free.'
Hafele on Tuesday directed the court to schedule a pretrial detention hearing for Scantlebury, where the issue of his bail and release could arise again. An initial case conference before Circuit Judge Caroline Shepherd is scheduled for April 10, online records show.
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According to a sheriff's report, Lal was caring for Scantlebury, who had been evaluated at the hospital for mental-health issues under the state's Baker Act. Upon entering his room, Scantlebury jumped on top of Lal and hit her repeatedly with fists fracturing before fleeing the hospital.
Deputies arrested the 33-year-old Wellington resident as he ran along Southern Boulevard.
The beating has alarmed nurses and health care workers across Palm Beach County, many of whom rallied Sunday outside Palms West and at the Jerome Golden Center in West Palm Beach. A 2018 federal Bureau of Labor Statistics study found health care workers suffered nearly 75% of all cases of workforce violence.
A GoFundMe page launched by a friend of Lal's family to raise money for her care had raised nearly $135,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.
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Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palms West beating: Judge denies bail for patient in attack on nurse
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