Police seek owner, residents of alleged unlicensed care home

MARIETTA, Ga. — Investigators want to hear from anyone who had family members staying at what they call an unlicensed elderly care home in Marietta.

Marietta police are searching for Raequel Penny and nearly a dozen elderly residents who are nowhere to be found.

Police said Penny's business on Lauren Springs Lane was filthy and unlicensed.

"Now that I'm remembering back there were a lot of elderly people on the porch, but as a neighbor you're thinking, 'It's not happening in my neighborhood.' You know?" neighbor Carlos Garcia said.

State inspectors came out to investigate the home when they received complaints that the elderly residents were living in the basement with no walls or doors connected to the bathroom and there was rotten food in the refrigerator.

A worker would not allow a state inspector inside the home.

"They're not monitored by the state. There's no inspection. So, really, they can do what they want," David Baldwin of the Marietta Police Department said.

Marietta police showed up 24 hours later with a search warrant, but the owner and the elderly residents were gone.

Penny is being sought on charges of operating a care home without a license.

WSBTV