Austin Police Department

AMERICAN-STATESMAN file photo/Jessalyn Tamez

A caregiver at a group home for people with disabilities in South Austin has been accused of punching a resident under his care several times after he threw his phone over a fence.

Allen Thomas IV, 23, faces a charge of injury to a disabled individual, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The affidavit said Adult Protective Services opened an investigation into the incident after the resident, a man with mental and physical disabilities, told the house manager that Thomas hit him on Aug. 21 at the group home in the 2500 block of Roehampton Drive.

The report said the man had two black eyes, visible bruises and fractures to his face.

"According to medical doctors, fractures of this nature typically occur as a result of blunt force trauma to the mid-face," the document said.

The affidavit said Thomas was working at the home when his phone went missing. Thomas checked with the disabled man and searched his room for the device but was unable to find it, the report said.

The man initially denied taking the phone but later admitted to throwing it over the fence of a neighboring property because Thomas was watching TV instead of paying attention to him, according to the affidavit.

"(He) said Allen got mad at him and hit him while in the living room area of the residence, hitting him so hard that it knocked him on the floor," the affidavit said.

According to the document, Thomas said the man left the residence on his own without telling anybody and fell into some trash cans while Thomas was trying to get him into a van to go back to the house.

When they returned, the man admitted he threw the phone over the fence, and Thomas was able to get it back.

The affidavit said Thomas left the property without reporting the incident to the house manager because he knew he would have to speak with investigators about it. He said he left also because he was concerned with getting his phone back and frustrated with the man’s behavior.

The affidavit said Thomas told investigators he did not handle the situation well, but denied hitting the man.

According to the affidavit, three separate reports filed by Adult Protective Services in 2014 and 2015 found Thomas responsible for neglect or exploitation of individuals under his care.

Thomas had not been booked into the Travis County Jail on Friday morning.

Injury to a disabled individual is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

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